Last week I met with a well-known Internet entrepreneur to consult him on a new business he is launching. During the conversation he kept referring to the “supernova,” and, though I know the term from a space perspective, I finally had to stop him and ask, “What are you talking about?”
He explained that, in business, a supernova is something that hits with a bang and immediately achieves critical mass. No waiting around for growth. He’s seeking a supernova impact with his new business. “I don’t want to take five years to grow it,” he told me. “I want $300 million in revenues out of the box. It can be done. All we have to do is find out how.”
I replayed this conversation in my mind and realized that my initial reaction had cast this guy as unrealistic. But as I thought about it, I wondered, why not?
Many years ago I met W. Clement Stone, a well-known motivational speaker and insurance billionaire. Stone preached that his success in business was based on the “Do it now” principle. He described his strength at determining where he wanted to be, then finding ways to accomplish in one year what might take others 15. He was very convincing, citing multiple instances in which he had achieved his goal.
I only wish I had followed his advice. Stone was referring to a supernova, though he did not call it that.
I once had the pleasure of spending time with world-renowned artist Richard Schmid, who told me that he spent years correcting the mistakes he made in paintings. “Finally, as I matured, I realized that I was going to aim for greatness out of the box,” Schmid added, “and that I would be meticulous with every brushstroke, so I don’t spend hundreds of hours cleaning up mistakes I’ve made.” This was his supernova.
Finally, I’m starting to get it. I can’t calculate all my wasted time correcting silly mistakes from my shoot-from-the-hip decisions. I have wasted years growing businesses when I could have employed supernova thinking by asking myself: What can I do today that would make this business soar out of the box? What would make this so important to customers that they have no choice but to spend money on it?
What have you been doing in your life, or at your radio station, year after year without improving significantly? In what ways can you apply supernova thinking in your personal or professional life? How can you use supernova practices to build audiences, advertising, new revenues? If you remove all limitations, can you invent a way to achieve the desired end result in a fraction of the normal time?
Though many think that greatness is grown slowly and organically, I’m starting to realize that every success boils down to one or two moments when you figure out one thing that changes everything else. It starts with obsessive curiosity: Spending more time planning, questioning customers, and removing your blinders to create a supernova.
He explained that, in business, a supernova is something that hits with a bang and immediately achieves critical mass. No waiting around for growth. He’s seeking a supernova impact with his new business. “I don’t want to take five years to grow it,” he told me. “I want $300 million in revenues out of the box. It can be done. All we have to do is find out how.”
I replayed this conversation in my mind and realized that my initial reaction had cast this guy as unrealistic. But as I thought about it, I wondered, why not?
Many years ago I met W. Clement Stone, a well-known motivational speaker and insurance billionaire. Stone preached that his success in business was based on the “Do it now” principle. He described his strength at determining where he wanted to be, then finding ways to accomplish in one year what might take others 15. He was very convincing, citing multiple instances in which he had achieved his goal.
I only wish I had followed his advice. Stone was referring to a supernova, though he did not call it that.
I once had the pleasure of spending time with world-renowned artist Richard Schmid, who told me that he spent years correcting the mistakes he made in paintings. “Finally, as I matured, I realized that I was going to aim for greatness out of the box,” Schmid added, “and that I would be meticulous with every brushstroke, so I don’t spend hundreds of hours cleaning up mistakes I’ve made.” This was his supernova.
Finally, I’m starting to get it. I can’t calculate all my wasted time correcting silly mistakes from my shoot-from-the-hip decisions. I have wasted years growing businesses when I could have employed supernova thinking by asking myself: What can I do today that would make this business soar out of the box? What would make this so important to customers that they have no choice but to spend money on it?
What have you been doing in your life, or at your radio station, year after year without improving significantly? In what ways can you apply supernova thinking in your personal or professional life? How can you use supernova practices to build audiences, advertising, new revenues? If you remove all limitations, can you invent a way to achieve the desired end result in a fraction of the normal time?
Though many think that greatness is grown slowly and organically, I’m starting to realize that every success boils down to one or two moments when you figure out one thing that changes everything else. It starts with obsessive curiosity: Spending more time planning, questioning customers, and removing your blinders to create a supernova.
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