P is for People

Anyone in marketing can recite the four P's which are product, price, placement, and promotion. But how do the four P's apply to company culture and leadership? 

Practice 

Have you ever been to a sporting event or seen a live play or concert? Have you watched a great movie? Do you have any experience meeting someone else who is successful in business? Do you find motivation from people who show talent and prowess in a particular discipline? In each case, someone spent years honing their skills to make it appear effortless. Yet we are quick to criticize from the comfort of our 20oz beer mug in the 300 level. Now think about your skill set and what you can bring to any situation. Did you learn and execute all you know immediately? 

Patience 

If you enjoy writing, reading a good book may give you more determination to work on your own novel. You may know someone who went back to school and emerged with a whole new career path. Seeing others succeed may give you reason to study their process to improve your business. 

Persistence 

It requires working nights and weekends, writing ideas on scraps of paper you later find in the laundry, networking well, reading incessantly while life blends with work. No successful person in history has gotten it right the first time. And no one does it alone.

Play 

There are many ways to be successful. What's important is to be organized and have a strategic plan. It is equally essential not to settle for good enough - that's what the other guys do. It's critical not to rest on the past or think we have all the answers, that's where danger resides. And it's okay to get a little messy once in a while, take some chances. 

Let's add a fifth – Purpose. __________________________________________________________________

More Useless Facts

It's been a while, so let's do another list of useless facts that will not get you the job, impress potential partners, or get you that awesome gig at the AI development firm.

But they are fun nonetheless;

Earth's rotation is changing speed. It's actually slowing, and this means that, on average, the length of a day increases by around 1.8 seconds per century. C'mon, I don't have all second!

Allodoxaphobia is the fear of other people's opinions. It's a rare social phobia characterized by an irrational and overwhelming fear of what other people think. So keep your opinion to yourself.

M&Ms are named after the businessmen who created them. Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie. Just a few handfuls for me, thanks.

The world's longest walking distance is 14,000 miles. You can walk from Magadan in Russia to Cape Town in South Africa. It requires no flying or sailing—just bridges and open roads. Bring comfy shoes.

A jiffy is an actual unit of time. It's 1/100th of a second. And a peanut butter brand.

The shortest commercial flight in the world takes place in Scotland. Regional airline Loganair flies between the islands Westray and Papa Westray. The journey is just 1.7 miles and takes 90 seconds. Baggage claim is about 90 minutes.

There are more than 1,000 types of bananas growing in the world. These can then be divided into 50 categories. Gonna need a bigger freezer.

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