3 Resources to Help You Think BIG

As part of a fast-growing team in a fast-growing company, it’s easy to lose sight of the vision we’re all working toward. The sheer volume of meetings and to-do lists and new ideas and interviews that happen around here is enough to make anyone crazy. And sometimes, it makes us ALL crazy. When that happens, I always try to get my mind back to where it needs to be: on the big picture. I tend to focus (okay, obsess) on the detail and process of things when I’m feeling overwhelmed when I should, in fact, be doing just the opposite. These resources help return the perspective I really need. 1.“Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson These are the guys who founded 37signals, which is the company that made Basecamp. They have a lot of real-life experience in the lean start-up world and give some good insight on how to achieve what you really want. I like the part about companies who are big, just to be big. Fried and Hansson talk about how the size of your company can garner a lot of respect (big) or a half-hidden eye roll (small). They challenge us to think that bigger is not always better, and growing with a purpose is much more important. 2. “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” a TED talk by Simon Sinek Whether you’re leading a group project or building a company, these points can change the way you approach things. Our team has used these words as guidance for growing our team, for improving our pitches and inspiring leadership in others. There are a lot of things to be gained by thinking like Simon. 3. Dan Pink’s talk about drive This animation does a ridiculously good job of demonstrating what we think about our team at TargetClick. We’ve always felt that people shouldn’t feel limited by their title or time with us, but Pink is able to illustrate the concept much further. There’s a lot of scientific data to back up this little quick-draw short, too. I find myself repeating his points about mastery and autonomy every time we talk about inviting someone else to join our team. There’s a cliché saying to sum this all up: sometimes you can’t see the forest through the trees. It’s a little cheesy, but if you’ve ever been so engrained in something that you’ve lost sight of the actual purpose, then you know that it can be true. These smart people really help improve my view of the woods. Or something like that.