Your network is your net worth – Porter Gale
It’s very easy to confuse outcomes and goals.
If you want to lose weight, for example, it’s easy to set a goal to lose 20 pounds when what you want as an outcome is to look good when you’re going out.
Or, if you run a business, to set a financial goal of increasing business by $500,000 when the outcome you want is a promotion.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you’re questioning those last two statements.
Surely the two are obviously linked – you can’t just separate them.
If you lose 20 pounds, you’ll look better and if you add $500,000 in earnings you’ll be promoted.
But here’s the thing.
Neither of those goals are really goals – they’re outcomes as well.
You lose 20 pounds by doing something and add $500,000 by doing other things.
So… what are those things and are they the goals to go after?
Why does any of this matter? Surely you just need to decide on a goal and get on with it and stop worrying about all this stuff?
Well, it matters because of what Buzzfeed found when they looked at how things spread.
Life is not linear – it doesn’t proceed in a step by step way.
The future is a distribution – a thicket of possibilities.
So, if you want to get your message out there what should you do?
Is it the quality of copy that matters?
Can you post something great on your website and expect the traffic to pour in?
No, it turns out. What matters is putting that content out to more networks.
Then, it spreads, from network to network and back again.
From Pinterest to Facebook, from email to Twitter and back and forth and maybe to a completely new platform.
That’s how things really spread and, if you want to get your message out, you’ve got to spend the time working on those different networks.
Which brings us back to weight and revenue.
You could lose weight just cutting out everything but protein.
But, to keep it off, you’ll need a mix – exercise, diet, sleep, water.
With your business, you need email, personal networks, referrals, social networks, media, advertising.
The message is important – It’s got to be a good one.
But it appears that the distribution is even more important.
Which is why after several months I might start sharing these posts on social media again.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 