A Tribute to an Iconoclast

I know, I know. Surely the label iconoclast gets thrown around too easily. Sometimes it is even used as a marketing term.

However, I feel very strongly that the world lost an iconoclast this past Thursday. What? You may say. I did not hear anything. Exactly!

Perhaps the greatest evidence for being an iconoclast is that people do not pay enough attention.

Whom do I speak of? I am talking about Dr. John E. Sarno of New York.

I never met Dr. Sarno, in the flesh. But, I feel like I know him through his writing. This is a man who truly had the courage of his convictions. Which is a lot tougher than one might imagine.

In a medical world ruled by Cartesian dualism, Sarno was willing to bridge the gap. He was a bridge which was, unfortunately, mistreated and neglected.

Western medicine is ruled by this dualism which states that the mind is separate from the body. In a strict sense, this is true. However, with regards to the gestalt, mind and body are inseparably connected.

I know I am using some wonky, nerdy words, in this post. And, I think this is an appropriate time erudition. Because I believe these are subjects people should ponder.

In simple terms, Sarno showed us how the mind and the body are interconnected. You may read that last sentence and be dismissive. Suggesting it is obvious that the mind and body are connected.

While it may seem obvious, this is not an idea accepted by the medical orthodoxy. Thank God Sarno cared so little for the opinions of his peers!

You see, for years I struggled with significant back pain. Today (at times) I still do experience back pain. But, it is never a struggle. Thanks to the teachings of Dr. Sarno, I am in control of my pain.

To my way of thinking, the best I can do, to honor Sarno, is to spread the word. So, I will leave you with two resources.

A few years ago I wrote an overview of Sarno's book The Divided Mind. Click here to read that report. Also, a new documentary has come out about Sarno's work. Click here to watch the trailer on YouTube.

Thanks for the good work, Dr. Sarno 😊

Businesses are not paid to reform customers...

I took the title of this post from Peter Drucker. It is an exact quote of his. "Businesses are not paid to reform customers."

I love that quote. It reminds me to forget about any efforts to ever "fix" my customers. I cannot say I have always known this lesson.

Let me give you an example. Howard Gardner is a professor of "Cognition and Education" at Harvard University. We might call him a psychology professor for short.

A while back, Gardner published a book titled Changing Minds. Of course, I immediately snatched up the book. And quickly devoured it.

As a novice entrepreneur, I thought I would need to know how to change minds. I have come to learn how foolish I was. Ooops!

Today, I know we need to satisfy our customers. Not change them. In a sense we are looking to preach to the choir. But, there is a twist.

As an entrepreneur, it is smart to begin with the choir. The churchgoers. The people who believe. In the common parlance, of Crossing the Chasm, these people are what is referred to as the "Innovators." They understand what you are doing. And they are ready to join.

Next, comes the believers who have stopped going to church. No conversion necessary. Only outreach. This would be what is known as the "Early Adopters."

What I learned is that true innovators do not try to convert the non-believers. They begin by creating a momentum within the community of believers.

Like I mentioned, I used to think I need to change people's minds, so they would see the wisdom of my invention. It was a mistake.

Do not get me wrong, as you cross the chasm, there will be an element of influence necessary. But, it will be aided by the momentum created amongst the believers.

To continue with the church theme, thank God for Drucker, who said, "Businesses are not paid to reform customers. They are paid to satisfy customers."

Stated differently, identify the problem you solve, and go find people who have that problem. But, do not waste your time trying to change people.

I will leave you with one more Drucker quote. "Communications aimed at conversion demand surrender." And, honestly, what are the chances you are going to get your customers to surrender?

Remember to Forget

The metaphor, which compares the brain to a computer, is very useful. Specifically, the brain is the hardware and the mind is the software.

Over the years, we keep adding things to the software. We keep adding programs and information. We occupy ourselves with worry. This overloads the computing power of the hardware.

The brain gets overloaded. So, it is important to throw things out. Delete unnecessary files and abandon the preoccupation over things which we do not control. Just forget about it.

Remember to forget.

Grow the Pie

There is a lot of talk, these days, about jobs and income. It is important stuff.

Here is an important, little secret. Real gains in income cannot sustainably outpace raises in productivity.

Put differently, the only way to grow the economy, and grow incomes, is to increase productivity.

Last week, I wrote an article about excellence. And, striving for excellence is a bona fide path to increased productivity. Not guaranteed, but bona fide.

Allow me to make one prediction. China will not overtake America as the world's economic powerhouse. At least, not any time soon.

It is true that China has grow a lot in recent years. But, the origin of that growth has been playing catch-up.

The Chinese have simply been executing the lessons that Frederick Winslow Taylor taught America more than 100 years ago. Lessons on efficiency and productivity.

In most ways, China is simply playing catch-up by playing copy-cat.

So, again, your income cannot sustainably grow faster than your productivity. And, this is why I write about effectiveness. Because productivity is largely a function of effectiveness.

America is an innovation and entrepreneurship machine. Through innovation, entrepreneurship, and increased effectiveness, America will be hard to touch. And, so will you. If you learn, and execute, the lessons of history.

For more information, grab a copy of this book.