A simple 2 x 2 for choices

May 5, 2021

​​​​ Seth Godin the American author and former Dot com business executive talks about how to make choices on what kind of projects/assignments/goals we need to focus on. Seth advises that it is better to have a portfolio of projects basis the grid below since not all projects/assignments/goals are going to work.

Seth agrees that it might be simple, but it’s not always easy. Success doesn’t always mean money; it just means that you got what you were hoping for. And while every project fits into one of the four quadrants, he says that there’s no right answer for any given person or any given moment.

Some of the traps he suggests us to avoid as below:

On the other hand, he suggests considering a portfolio of projects. Some of them that have a very high likelihood of working out, and each one of these outcomes is pleasant, if not game-changing. He advises to play often enough, though, and your persistent generosity will pay off.

And then he asks us to mix into that some of the “moonshot”projects that most people are afraid to take on. They’re afraid because they have equated “low chance of success” with “risky.” They’re not the same. Risky implies that failure will cost a lot. It won’t. Seth argues that you can thrive with this strategy because you have a portfolio, and because you realize that “unlikely” is not the same as “not worth trying.”

He sums up by stating that the best portfolios are persistent (because patience is a rare skill), they’re generous (so others root for you to succeed) and they build on each other (because then, even the ones that don’t work increase your chances for the next one to work out).