Three things we learnt this week
Each and every week the Square Holes team are deep in the bowels of a number of projects, working to mine all of the insights that we can to help grow businesses and support thriving cities.
These insights are used by businesses and organisations to innovate their offerings, move into new markets, track their impact and hone their products and output. Each week we will be sharing a broad insight that we have learnt for you to use in your own work.
Let us know what you find valuable!
Jason: Stay single minded
I was recently death scrolling on Instagram and saw this clip of Jerry Seinfeld:
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“Everything you are worried about is going to be gone just like that.Your only focus should be on getting better at what you’re doing,” (quoting philosopher Marcus Aurelius). Seinfeld still habitually writes and performs to keep perfecting his craft. I was watching the latest product update from Apple yesterday, and have heard something similar from Microsoft and other leading brands – a strong focus on continuously getting better at what they do. Bill Gates talked about his decade or so of obsessive coding and long hours, that are now a distant memory. Passion leads to obsession – a competitive advantage over those who simply clock in and out. Getting a team with a single minded focus is next level commitment, beyond the obsessed leader. Most businesses and even leaders tend to be photocopies or thieves then original thinkers. Such single minded focus helps avoid distractions from mentors, consultants, so-called experts or even ChatGPT, that can sometimes discourage or divert the pursuit of better. A single-minded passion is how we get better, and better, and better – the single most important competitive advantage.
Dylan: Space for growth
Iteration of ideas and time to sit with them (rather than rushing to the outcome) are not signs of laziness, rather an essential part of creativity and high-level thinking. Whilst the glorification of the constant hustle and rushing to finished products leads to burnout and lacklustre results, deliberate periods of detachment provide us the capacity to subconsciously process complex thoughts and generate fresh insights. Like how our muscles need rest to grow, or minds often need space to evolve and refine our ideas. Making room for space isn’t about avoiding progress, rather a key part of it.
Mahalia: Keep questioning
Trust is a tricky thing. In this modern age of smoke and mirrors it can be hard to know which companies to trust, what government initiatives are born from a desire to help people and what information is true. Media literacy is needed now more than ever as misinformation spreads like wildfire via social media. Teaching our kids how to discern good faith actors vs those out to make a quick buck is vital when influencers and online personalities are your children’s role models. Critical thinking is undervalued, and it’s important to create a healthy curiosity in your children (and yourself) about who is behind the information you are sourcing. Some key questions to always ask are:
- Who was and was not involved in the creation of this?
- Why was this made?
- What does it want me to do?
- Who is the target audience?
- Who paid for this?
- Who makes money from this?
- What is left out that might be important to know?
- What techniques are used to communicate meaning, and why?
- How do those techniques communicate this message?
Think your business or organisation could do with some insights? Contact us here.
