20-80. Exponential. Zone of genius. High-impact activities. Leverage. “10x Is Easier Than 2x: How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less” reminds me of “Who not how”
Who not how
How” is linear and slow. “Who” is non-linear, instantaneous, and exponential. Rather than viewing people or services as a “cost,” as in the transactional mindset, view it as an investment, with the possibility of 10X (10 times), 100X, or even more significant returns and change. That happens when a team gets into a flow. Combining zones of genius with shared vision (what) and understanding of context (why) does that to a project. Where the “how” is the responsibility of the right genius. Which means trust and letting go are fundamental. With a focus on results and not on effort. Personal confidence comes from making progress toward goals that are far bigger than your present capabilities.
Exponential organisations
Also, a little of “Exponential organisations”. What happens when all technologies cross-collide and digitisation, demonetisation, and dematerialisation come together at exponential speed? Linear adjustment is not going to cut it.
Other books
And maybe “What got you here won’t get you there”, “Mastery” and “The age of Superman” And definitely like “Deep work”
10x is easier than 2x
The whole premise of the book is that 10x is easier than 2x. Going 10x is the simplification of your focus down to the core essential. You remove everything else. Steve Jobs was the master of extreme simplification, which is the essence of innovation. Going 10x means living based on the most intrinsic and exciting future you can imagine. That 10x future becomes your filter for everything you do. 10x isn’t about more. It’s about less. You can’t work 10x harder or longer. Brute force and linear methods won’t get you to 10x.
10X is an operating system
10x is also not about quantity. It’s about quality. Going 10x means your attention is directly on far less, but it’s insanely more potent and impactful because it’s focused rather than spread thin. Finally, 10x is not about any specific outcome. It’s about the process.
It’s an operating system you deploy for:
- Dramatically expanding your vision and standards
- Simplifying your strategy and focus
- Identifying and removing non-essentials
- Developing mastery in unique areas
- Leading and empowering others who excitedly share your vision
Complete transformation
10x is the vehicle for transforming yourself and your life. 10x is playing the infinite game of expanding your freedom. It’s a complete transformation, not simply re-arranging the furniture. 10x requires operating in an entirely different way that bypasses the stresses and complications of a 2x goal. Every time you go 10x, you become more focused and less broad. To go 10x, you approach time qualitatively, not quantitatively.
Clarify and define your Unique Ability
The core is on finding and focusing on your unique ability. Your life’s objective is to develop mastery in and fully express your Unique Ability. There’s nothing more essential to master. There’s nothing more important to dedicate yourself to. It’s your life’s work, and no one else will if you don’t do it.
Given that Unique Ability is at the core of who you are and thus highly personal, it requires extreme commitment and courage to connect with, develop, and utilise your Unique Ability. It’s your radically unique way of doing what you do, such that no one else can compete with you even if they want to. Your Unique Ability is also your unique vision and purpose—your “why” for what you’re doing.
- If it doesn’t feel like you’re radically exposing yourself, then it’s not Unique Ability.
- If it’s not transforming you rapidly, it’s not Unique Ability.
- If it doesn’t feel like play and raw creativity, it’s not Unique Ability.
- If the rabbit hole doesn’t go far down, it’s not Unique Ability.
- If you’re not innovating, breaking rules, and changing boundaries for what “reality” means in a particular discipline or craft, then it’s not Unique Ability.
There’s nothing more essential to master. There’s nothing more important to dedicate yourself to. It’s your work. Your life’s work, and if you don’t do it, no one else will. The more you develop your Unique Ability, the higher the value the right people will place on it. The more you invest in your Unique Ability, the more 10x transformations you will make.
Why the 2x mindset is the enemy of results
- The road to hell is paved with the pursuit of volume.
- Only once you make your goal impossible will you stop operating based on your current assumptions and knowledge. You’ll be open to new ideas, and you’ll entertain different paths that you’ve never considered.2
- Seemingly impossible or massive goals are highly practical because they immediately separate what works from what won’t, illuminating the few paths that have the greatest efficacy.
- Conversely, with a 10x goal, only a limited number of strategies or paths will work. The higher and more specific your goals and standards become, the fewer options you have—which, counterintuitively, actually makes them easier to achieve.
- The only way to improve your present is by making your future bigger.
- 10x separates the signal from the noise.
- 10x is simple. Very few paths will get you there.
- If we didn’t have ambition—some big goal we are after—how would we know what little things, what distractions, to say no to
- How do you distinguish the 20% that matters and the 80% that doesn’t?
- Small goals don’t require 80/20 thinking because small goals don’t require much adjustment from your current approach.
- What would happen if you immediately eliminated the bottom 80%? How long would it take you to get back to your current level of revenue?”
- 2x is working in the business. 10x is working on yourself and working on the business.
- Letting go of the 80% isn’t easy, because the 80% is your comfort zone.
- Good is the enemy of great
- What would happen if you dramatically elevated your standards? How can you move toward your 20% focus and mastery? What 80% would have to go?
- Escape the Scarcity of Needing and Embrace the Abundance of Wanting
- 10x embraces abundance and rejects scarcity
- Each 10x jump you make will non-linearly and qualitatively transform you as a person.
- If you want to 10x, you must radically change 80% of your life.
2X is linear
Put simply, if you’re going for 2x growth, you can keep or maintain 80 % of your life or what you’re doing now. 2x is linear. Going for 10x requires letting go of 80% of your current life and going all-in on the crucial 20% that’s relevant and high-impact.
The tips
- It is going to be scary.
- You need to commit.
- Let go of 80% of your identity.
- Think exponentially.
- Be completely honest with yourself.
- Clarify and Define Your Unique Ability.
- Always Be the Buyer. Look for transformational win-win deals.
- Be grateful for what you have and where you are.
- Everything happens for you, not to you.
- Let go of the 80% and allow yourself to explore your curiosities and interests.
- You become what you focus on
- The scariest and most courageous thing you’ll ever do is to be yourself.
- Define your “Dream Check”. What specific value would you need to provide such that my Dream Check would be a no-brainer.
- Take 150+ “free days” per year. Escape factory time and open your schedule for “Kairos” flow, fun, and transformation.
- Structure your time according to the entrepreneurial time system of free, focus, and buffer days.
- In the end, you will only be transformed when you recognise and accept that there is a will within each of us, quite outside the range of conscious control.
- Create a self-managing company.
Collective Unique Ability
Ultimately, the aim is to build a self-managing company with a layer of technology, a layer of shared values, and a shared vision and passion. This will create organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB): altruistic activities and behaviours that support the team and organisation that are “above and beyond” the specifics of the roles, where everyone uses unique abilities for the common good.
For that, you need
- The story: You need a powerful origin story.
- An ideology: A mission and purpose that gives people goosebumps.
- A symbol: A strong-sounding and clear name and a symbol or logo people can associate with.
- Shared rituals: Any activity that is unique and consistent, which triggers a sense of meaning and belonging.
- The enemy: You have to have an enemy.
- The language: A shared insider language with unique words, acronyms, and shared meanings
- The leader
1000x impact
By going 10x and stripping away the layers of the mediocre, your life will become increasingly focused and simple. Your Unique Ability will become increasingly rare and valuable. As you go deeper into your Unique Ability, you apply less and less pressure yet produce 10x, 100x, 1,000x and more impact and leverage.
