Friday Field Notes: 6/13/2025
Happy Friday the 13th, folks.
Quick primer on why people are nervous today (and I promise I’ll tie it back to actual lesson).
The number 13 has baggage. For a long while, it’s been viewed as unlucky. Even today, hotels skip floor 13, and airlines cut row 13.
Couple that with the fact that Fridays were also seen as unlucky, and you’ve got a double whammy.
Sailors avoided setting sail on Fridays. Executions in many areas were held on Fridays.
The problem I see with viewing today as the unluckiest of days is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When you’re looking for unluckiness, your reticular activation system is going haywire, trying to connect dots.
So yeah, you could spill coffee any day, but on Friday the 13th, it’s because of the day, not because you’re clumsy.
Now for the lesson…
How many things in agency life are just self-fulfilling prophecies?
We look for that team member to screw up, so we start seeing it more. Rather than inserting ourselves as a leader and helping them.
We worry about clients leaving so much that we don’t pay attention to the details that would get them to stay.
If I had to guess, there’s something in your business right now where this is happening. Do a quick assessment so you can become aware of it.
It might save you a lot of headache. Maybe even some dollars.
Lessons of the Week:
1. Build your business with an options strategy. Not an exit strategy.
When you have options, you have flexibility. That’s when you’re truly free.
I’m for people wanting to build towards an exit, but what happens if you get to selling time and the multiplier is crap? What if your personal life changes and selling doesn’t make sense?
Building a business to sell definitely gives you more options than if you didn’t. Just keep other options in mind as well.
2. Differentiation is not about being the best. It's about being the only.
I feel people know this by now, but it’s like we’re wired to continue “best” thinking.
If you’re the only one in the race, then you automatically take the podium as the best. And that’s a far easier victory than battling everyone else.
This isn’t to say it’s easy to find that niche. And I’m not necessarily saying category creation is the way.
But if you can find your place as the ‘only’, life gets easier.
3. Pay attention to the sequence you do things.
I’m starting to do this more in my life and thought it’s worth sharing.
Why do we do things in a certain order? Why do I check my email after I turn on the computer? Why do I put my contacts in before I brush my teeth? Why do I put my left shoe on before my right?
There’s a reason for all of these things, and sometimes challenging them can lead to better results.
I mean, the shoe thing may not matter, but should I really be checking email before knocking out that critical task for the day?
There are opportunities to optimize everywhere, and I’m starting to look for them. You should too.
Quote That Slaps:
“Friday the 13th is still better than Monday the whatever.” -Unknown Internet Philosopher™
Content Roll Up:
Have a great weekend!
Comment and share any of your learnings this week!
