The Technology of YOU

The time is now and always

Selling is simple when you have something that customers value and competitors can’t copy. Most companies strive to accomplish this through technology, which is simply defined by Peter Thiel as making improvements to a product that customers will pay for. When that’s the case, you can sit back and earn monopoly profits.

But here’s the rub: just as nature abhors a vacuum, a free market economy abhors a profit. Whenever you make an improvement that customers will pay for, others will begin plotting how they can get in on the action, either by matching what you do and offering it cheaper, or by leapfrogging your offer. In a flat world, where competition can come from anywhere and technology changes so rapidly, the idea of enduring competitive advantage seems like a quaint relic, something that old-timers talk about while youngsters roll their eyes.

Unless you work for yourself, you’re selling a product that someone else is responsible for improving, so there’s not much you can do about that. But you are part of every selling transaction, and the technology of you is something you can control—in fact, it’s the only thing you can control.

What are you doing to avoid becoming a commodity yourself? What improvements are you making to you that customers will pay for?

The only way to escape the personal commodity trap is to constantly make improvements to your personal technology, in the form of your professional learning and performance. You have to constantly make improvements to the product, and you have to do it in such a way that it’s difficult—if not impossible—to copy.

Why can’t they copy your professional learning and performance?

Learning is an individual responsibility and it’s hard, which is why most people stop at a comfortable plateau early in their careers. If they do make the effort, their laziness draws them to approaches that promise “secrets” and easy tips to improved performance, and easy tips are worthless as a source of competitive advantage because even if they work anyone can copy them.

Even with the best intentions, many people don’t know how to learn. Some think that it’s like punching a ticket—you attend a class and now you’re an expert. But the other side of the learning curve is the forgetting curve, which starts immediately unless you actively and deliberately practice the skills you’ve learned. Others get enthusiastic about a topic and start tackling it without either being systematic or being critical and choosy in their sources.

If you learn the right things right, you will be almost impossible to catch. First, knowledge is cumulative and it earns compound interest—the more you know, the easier it is to learn more. Second, by keeping your learning focused on what customers value, every improvement you make sets you apart from the competition.

So, you have to be smart about what and how to learn

The test for what to learn is, “what improvements will customers pay for?”

Know what your customers don’t know, because they won’t pay for something they already have. Look at all relevant levels and functions that you impact—technical, operational and business decision makers—and brainstorm ideas about what additional knowledge would make them more effective in their roles.

Compare your customers’ needs with an honest assessment about your current skills and knowledge; identify obvious weaknesses and discover positive opportunities. Have a “beginner’s mind”, and know what you don’t know. If you find this tough, ask around: there are many people who will give you an honest opinion, and most experts are proud to show off their expertise and will share a ton if you just ask. You’ll need a balance of broad and deep knowledge, or what I call being a “hedgefox”; depth will earn you the right to be heard and breadth will give you the perspective to bring valuable insights.

Learn how to learn. A lot of what we’ve learned about the best way to absorb and retain material is wrong, according to recent research. Rather than making this a tutorial, I recommend picking up any one of several excellent books about this, such as How We Learn, by Benedict Carey.

Copy and improve. While you want to make it hard for others to copy you, there’s no reason not to copy what others know. It’s called research and reading. But be careful what you put in your mind; it’s better to read one or two quality sources deeply than to skim a lot of shallow crap. Depth is critical because it’s hard, so those willing to put in the work will be rare and valuable.

Make it a habit. Set aside time in your regular schedule for professional learning and skill development. You have to take control and responsibility for your own “product development”, because relying on others will only put you at the same level of everyone else.

Let’s conclude with a good news-bad news sandwich. The good news is that continuously improving the technology of you can’t fail in propelling you to the top of your profession. The bad news is that you don’t own that spot—you have to keep paying rent to remain there, in the form of even more learning. But the final good news is that it will keep you young: Henry Ford said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.” So, learn early, learn fast, and learn well.

Stay curious, my friends.