Tenacity + Audacity = UNSTOPPABLE.If you are a regular reader of VC Fred Wilson, you probably saw that he wrote a post this week on "Tenacity" and how he feels it is a factor that differentiates people. It's a very quick read -- check it out if you can.It also got me thinking about a video I had recently seen by Gary Vaynerchuk where he ranted about a similar sounding topic that I think is actually a natural companion to tenacity: "audacity." And if you think my preambles are rants, you really need to watch GaryVee because once he gets wound up....fuhgeddaboudit.See, I had never really thought about the importance of being audacious in business until I had joined my first startup back in 2005. During one of the first off sites we had, the acronym "BHAG" was written on white boards and mentioned in conversation and planning sessions over and over. The problem for me: I literally had no clue what that was. Eventually I learned that BHAG stands for "big hairy audacious goal". Setting a BHAG (whether it be for a quarter or a year) is a way to try to rally and motivate a team to strive to achieve something most sane people would view as impossible -- simply because they have the sheer audacity to actually think they can make it happen. At the time I remember thinking it was total Silicon Valley living, VC money spending bullshit. Seriously, who comes up with this crap? But now, with a bit of wisdom and experience under my belt, I totally buy it as a motivating tool. Being audacious with your goals means you have the guts to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, challenge conventional thinking, and be brazen about what you think you can accomplish. You put fear of failure aside and actually welcome the challenge to conquer the BHAG. In the end, by pushing yourself and your team to be audacious (assuming you have assembled the right team), you can pretty much ensure you will likely achieve more than if you followed simple conventional thinking. And when you combine tenacity with audacity, fuhgeddaboudit. You can really be unstoppable.So what is your BHAG right now? What are you being audacious about? I have a new idea I am working on that I will share more about next week -- some of you may have seen me mention it on LinkedIn this week. I'll even give some of the more detail oriented Friends a sneak peak here. In the meantime, enjoy the long holiday weekend. Some good reading in this edition if you have the time -- nothing too long too. I promise. XOXODave
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Friends of Dave #66: Audacious G
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Tenacity + Audacity = UNSTOPPABLE.If you are a regular reader of VC Fred Wilson, you probably saw that he wrote a post this week on "Tenacity" and how he feels it is a factor that differentiates people. It's a very quick read -- check it out if you can.It also got me thinking about a video I had recently seen by Gary Vaynerchuk where he ranted about a similar sounding topic that I think is actually a natural companion to tenacity: "audacity." And if you think my preambles are rants, you really need to watch GaryVee because once he gets wound up....fuhgeddaboudit.See, I had never really thought about the importance of being audacious in business until I had joined my first startup back in 2005. During one of the first off sites we had, the acronym "BHAG" was written on white boards and mentioned in conversation and planning sessions over and over. The problem for me: I literally had no clue what that was. Eventually I learned that BHAG stands for "big hairy audacious goal". Setting a BHAG (whether it be for a quarter or a year) is a way to try to rally and motivate a team to strive to achieve something most sane people would view as impossible -- simply because they have the sheer audacity to actually think they can make it happen. At the time I remember thinking it was total Silicon Valley living, VC money spending bullshit. Seriously, who comes up with this crap? But now, with a bit of wisdom and experience under my belt, I totally buy it as a motivating tool. Being audacious with your goals means you have the guts to push yourself outside of your comfort zone, challenge conventional thinking, and be brazen about what you think you can accomplish. You put fear of failure aside and actually welcome the challenge to conquer the BHAG. In the end, by pushing yourself and your team to be audacious (assuming you have assembled the right team), you can pretty much ensure you will likely achieve more than if you followed simple conventional thinking. And when you combine tenacity with audacity, fuhgeddaboudit. You can really be unstoppable.So what is your BHAG right now? What are you being audacious about? I have a new idea I am working on that I will share more about next week -- some of you may have seen me mention it on LinkedIn this week. I'll even give some of the more detail oriented Friends a sneak peak here. In the meantime, enjoy the long holiday weekend. Some good reading in this edition if you have the time -- nothing too long too. I promise. XOXODave