SmartcutsHow Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success

Smartcuts = rejecting convention + working smarter • The best paths to success are different today from

what they were yesterday. • Smartcuts require you to think laterally to achieve

sustainable success.

Hacking the ladder to success • Hacking = shorten the path

to success. • We live in an age of non

traditional ladder climbing.• Successful people find

unconventional ways to hack the ladder rather than climb.• Work smarter, not harder. • If one ladder proves to be

inefficient, move to another.

Presidents • Many of the top-rated presidents in history did not

climb the traditional ladder in politics. • The experience they gained in other forms of

occupation outside of politics gave them a skillset to succeed as presidents. • Teddy Roosevelt was a sheriff, Thomas Jefferson was a

lawyer and Ronald Reagan was an actor before assuming roles in elected office.

Find a mentor that will guide your journey, not your practice.

Build on top of existing platforms • Platforms = leverage • How much better is hard work when amplified by a

lever?

What you are trying to build

What has already been built

PlatformsDifficult to drive on Get from Chicago to

Philadelphia in one day

Rapid Feedback • “Fail fast and fail often” • The goal is to get people to anticipate negative

feedback and build confidence. • By embracing a lot of tiny failures, there is no actual

failure. • Utilize existing platforms to create rapid feedback.

Example: Google Analytics can help you determine what aspects of a webpage worked or didn’t work.

Surfing Waves: Being in the right place at the right time

Waves • You can either catch a wave by paddling or spotting a

wave early and casually drifting to the sweet spot. • Pro surfers analyze the ocean hours before a

competition to study patterns of waves. • Businesses who allocate time to deliberately analyze

the market in search for the next big wave have the advantage because they are already in the water.

EDM • Electronic Dance Music (EDM) is an example of a

wave.

• Sony Moore, now Skrillex, experimented with different trends when they were still in the early adoption phase.

• Skrillex is now the face of entire music movement because he identified a wave and capitalized on it.

Utilize Superconnectors Which is easier, making friends with a thousand people one by one or making friends with someone who already has a thousand friends?

Superconnectors at work • Jimmy Kimmel found a video posted by Paul “Bear”

Vasquez called “Double Rainbow” and shared it on twitter. • Kimmel’s fans watched and shared creating a viral

fad. • At last check, the video had over 38,000,000 views on

YouTube. • Superconnectors are ways of getting content out to

millions of people quickly. • Other examples are: social media sites, radio

broadcasting, influential people…

Harness momentum • An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless

acted on by another force. • “Strike while the iron’s hot” • Build up potential energy, so unexpected opportunities

can be amplified. • Momentum is a powerful predictor of success.

Strive for Simplicity • Simplification makes the difference between good and

amazing. How can we make this product simpler?

• Mp3 players example: “4 Gigabytes and a 0.5 Gigahertz processor!” vs. “1,000 songs in your pocket.”

• Creativity comes easier within constraints. We are forced to think simpler to solve problems with limited resources.

Simple things we use today • Email vs. postal mail• Cloud storage vs. flash drives • Netflix vs. video rental stores • Keyless entry to our cars • Typing vs. handwriting

10x Thinking = taking an extremely big swing

• "This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” –President Kennedy, 1961

Why does 10x thinking work? • Human nature makes us surprisingly willing to support

big ideals and big swings. • Big causes attract big believers, big investors, big

capital, and big talent.

Smartcuts1. Shorten your time to success by hacking the ladder,

developing a personal relationship with a mentor, and learning from rapid feedback.

2. Leverage by building on existing platforms, identifying waves, and utilizing superconnectors.

3. Soar by capturing momentum, simplifying thought processes, and experimenting with 10x thinking.

Photo Credits • http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9b/Yoda_Empire_Strikes_Back.png

• http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/354/434/711.jpg

• http://babypips.cachefly.net/school/images/pre-school/Leverage.png

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Interstate_180_Pennsylvania.jpg

• http://www.inc.com/uploaded_files/image/970x450/social-media-network-people-1940x900_36476.jpg

• http://www.letsonfamily.com/misc/man_on_the_moon.jpg