Dave Rendall is an entrepreneur who has worn many hats during his professional career, which started when he was very young. All told, he has delivered newspapers, been a stock boy, lawn boy, caddie, painter, janitor, tutor, resident assistant, job coach, supervisor, nonprofit manager, and senior executive. Just to spice things up, he also has experience as a leadership professor, stand-up comedian, and endurance athlete. Drawing from this vast array of experience, Dave’s contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom is rooted in reality: “What makes us weird, makes us wonderful. What makes us weak, also makes us strong.”
The common social reaction to uniqueness is one that nearly every teenage kid experiences at least once: rejection. Weirdness has a negative connotation; the word “unusual” is usually meant as a criticism. The resistance once receives for being weird is a push to be more conventional; to fit in. Robert Quinn once observed: “Deviants will always generate external pressures to conform when you perform beyond the norms, the systems will adjust and try to make you normal.”
It has been Dave’s experience, however, that the things that make you weird will also make you successful and remarkable. Those who are perceived to be weak may actually be quite strong. This perspective comes from Dave’s time working with people with disabilities (and specifically, helping them find employment). While it was common for others to focus on someone’s perceived disability, Dave explains that it takes a true genius to identify what’s working and what’s effective.
Dyslexia is a condition that provides a perfect example in the world of entrepreneurship. One study revealed that more than 50% of British millionaires were dyslexic, while another showed that at least 33% of entrepreneurs in the U.S. also have the condition. One person who fits into both categories is Richard Branson, who claims that his dyslexia has helped him to succeed. The logical conclusion: people with the condition don’t have weak or broken brains, they just have different brains. Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinkos, would likely agree; his dyslexia drove him to stay out of the office, improve his management style, and grow his business. Upon selling to FedEx for $2.4B, he claimed that not only would he not want to remove his condition, he wishes everyone could have it.
As with most entrepreneurial endeavors, there is a powerful analogy that comes from the sports world. Matt Stutzman is a competitive archer who won the silver medal at the Paralympic Games, all without arms. Matt says that he developed this incredible skill as a result of his disability by fine-tuning his core muscles and legs to the point of athletic superiority. He is even now facing legal action from those who claim that his condition gives him an “unfair advantage.” So perhaps the question you can ask yourself is: if someone without arms can be seen as having an “unfair advantage”, then is the weakness you face as an entrepreneur or as a leader really as strong as you think?
In Dave’s experience, there is always someone that is “weird” the same way you are, who would not see you as weird, but as wonderful. It’s about finding the right fit and the best situations where your perceived weirdness works for you. Dave is a 6’6” man, so he already stands out - yet he regularly wears pink shoes and pink pants as an homage to his three daughters. A side effect to this is that it helps him stand out even more (i.e. be more memorable) - for a professional speaker in a crowded marketplace, this becomes a clear advantage.
In a business sense, to be different requires doing things that are weird and unusual, but most businesses measure themselves against competition standards or parameters. Everyone measures success in the same way. True success, however, lives in having the courage to be weird and think differently in order to separate yourself and define success in a unique way. If you’re able to differentiate yourself into true uniqueness, then there is no competition.
Kris Kaplan is a firm believer that if you’re not having fun at what you do, you shouldn’t be doing it. After a long career on the road as a rep, Kris decided it was time to create an organization of people who shared the same values as him and were wholly focused on a singular vision. He is now a coach to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and other high-performing individuals, providing them with tools needed to simply execute. It is that focus on execution that inspired his contribution to Paper Napkin Wisdom: “Giddy Up and Make It Happen.”
Kris’ personal mantra of making it happen originated from taking his own thirst for learning and turning it into action - step on the gas and go for it. Within his own business, he found himself in a learning mode, protecting what was his during the post-recession free fall. Dealing with that kind of negativity in his business - a focus on saving what was left - made the business gun-shy about being as forward/active as possible. It also drove Kris toward developing a philosophy of less learning; more doing.
Personally, this mantra inspired Kris to become more active and lose weight, mostly to keep up with his young children. Professionally, however, it helps to maintain a “north star” when traveling along your path, or what Cameron Herold would describe as a vivid vision. Kris’ experience has taught him to take the strategy that he crafted and make the decision to accomplish it. Entrepreneurs can become enthralled with strategy as a sexy topic, but tactics are going to move you forward. Focusing on execution will also help simplify your strategy and create/maintain alignment among the team. In other words, a return to a singular goal.
The motivation for this focus on tactics derives from Kris’ observation of the current state of success: we now accept the “stumbling forward” way of business can be acceptable, rather than striving for true greatness. Companies are merely surviving rather than growing - 10% growth is stratospheric rather than the norm. Ask yourself this: what if you do a little less business, but become true experts at what you do? Wouldn’t that ultimately push your business towards a more rapid period of growth? Especially considering that revenue is not necessarily the only way to measure growth and success.
The foundation on which Kris has built this philosophy is one of empowered entrepreneurialism, passion for the products he represents, and simple solutions. Simplify your vision - be the #1 provider of X - and that vision will eventually filter down to tactics and execution (e.g. achieving that goal means I need to make 3 phone calls instead of 2).
It is certainly a more difficult proposition for an established company to rethink their perspective, as opposed to a new company that is just starting out, but the reward is that much more valuable when it happens. The time might never be right, but the result will always make it worthwhile. As Kris says, think about “when is now a good time”.