I booked a 16-person room here in Princeton for our upcoming workshop on January 27th. It sold out in two weeks. Enough folks clamored to get in, so I’ve secured a larger room at the Public Library.

We’ll be meeting to discuss Legacy Building in your business using some verrrrrry old companies as our inspiration. Reply to this email with PRINCETON if you want to reserve one of these last few spots. I'll shoot you the details.

One Bad Day

My wife wanted me to take another of our sick chickens to the vet. Now I don’t know if you know this, but I already took an ailing chicken to a level three vet trauma center last year and I was not doing that again. I found a taxidermist who said he would take it for free and just “deal with it”. But that didn't seem like a good option. 

In the end, I went to the backyard and broke its neck. Very quick and humane, I believe. In fact, it was the chicken's only bad day. Then I came back inside and had lunch. 

It may sound really callous, but when you own chickens, it comes with the territory. They are one of the most expendable animals nature has ever come up with and death is just a part of the whole thing. 

Here’s my point.

When entrepreneurs are growing teams, an inevitable part is firing people. Now, obviously, it's not the same as killing a chicken, but for a lot of entrepreneurs, it can feel as bad. 

You know the expression, Hire fast. Fire faster? 

It is so true. But we have to concede that it’s completely impossible to fully suss out a candidate without having them actually work with us in an actual environment. So we have to accept that if we're going to hire people, we have to be able to fire people. It's never easy, But if you can't do that, then you shouldn't be responsible for hiring either.

Remember, the way we let people go, speaks volumes to the people that we keep. 

Short PSA

There are millions and millions of productivity tools out there. Apps and products and gizmos and gadgets. I used to really pride myself on knowing all of them and being on top of all of them and curating content for them all. 

I'm still very aware of the tools and things that work, but I'm less fascinated with some of the shiny new things. When a client or a friend says, “Have you heard about this app? It's like Trello, but you know, green.” It’s funny because when you find a stack that works for you, any new tool legitimately has to be fifty to a hundred percent better to be worth even looking at.

But more importantly, when we are driven by tools rather than problems and solutions, it creates bigger problems. Every one of us has seen an ad for a condition that nobody knew was a thing.

 Are your eyelashes not long enough? Well, now there's LashE. Do you have restless leg syndrome? Now there’s PRX.

No patient should ever go to a doctor and say, I need this medicine, right? You should be going to a doctor saying, I have this problem. What can I do about it? And then maybe the doctor suggests that medicine. And that's a very, very important difference.

So if you see on product hunt.com or on CNET or on TechCrunch, that there's a new app that does this, and you think that's so cool, maybe I could use that. Stop. Don't do that. What you need to do is get better at identifying problems in your current workflow, with your team, your way of operating, or your org structure.

Then you can come talk to me or a trusted ally and say, what solutions exist for the problem that I am currently facing? 

This Month’s Cool Reads and Finds

Best Halftime Locker Room Rant Ever 

Why efficiency is dangerous and slowing down makes life better | Psyche Ideas

The vital crosstalk between breath and brain

How a Pomodoro timer app helped me regain my focus - The Verge

The 12 Best Online Community Platforms of 2022 - The Leap

The Secret To Talking To Someone Who Always Gets Defensive

The Simpsons Predictions: 30 Times the Fox Show Forecasted the Future – The Hollywood Reporter

Debirdify - Getting off Twitter? 

Stardust - Automatically blocks cookie pop-ups

Check these out - I heart working with Creative Live. The production quality is insane. 

Effective Communication in the Remote Era with Ari Meisel

Optimize, Automate, and Outsource Your Business with Ari Meisel

Productivity Riffs. Want more real-world solutions to scaling your business efficiently? Just join The Less Doing Labs. It's a private group chat that gives you access to me for $12 a month or a hundred dollars for the year. If you're interested, watch this super-fast video for more info.

Make it an effective day.

P.S. Whenever you are ready...here are 3 ways I can help you grow your business:

1. Join my FREE Facebook Group - The Replaceable Founder
2. Enroll in one of my courses, Overwhelmology or The Replaceable Founder
3. Work with me privately