Obsession

…is a requirement for legacy work…doing something worth talking about long after you’re gone. Caring enough about the detail of something to the point of obsession is how the remarkable becomes remarkable. It’s not through luck or happen stance. How something is made and delivered and the posture and culture of the people doing it matters. Is the next one just another one? Or is it the only one…the last one? 

Deciding to focus sharply on the details is a choice. Get enough people to do it and you’ve created a culture of romance, making people feel like they are the center of your universe. That’s really hard to avoid talking about.

Dream Company

I’d probably call it Appelos...hybrid Apple and Zappos

It has nothing to do with computers or an internet store. It’s about their obsessions...

Apple- quality, innovation, design, spirit, growing the tribe

Zappos- employee care, employee dream fulfillment, customer engagement, pursuit of happiness

Obviously, both organizations have been very successful on every measure. But, they also both started at zero and went through serious dips before emerging into what we know today. The key takeaway is how they stuck to their core values and developed obsessions around them. They survived and made progress by ignoring popular trends and advice and simply (but not easily) doing flawless work. They executed their obsessions...and continue to do so.

Lesson...Write down your purpose, what you stand for. Develop obsessions and execute. There, that’s your business plan. Please go do something remarkable.