Unreasonable

I love reading Seth Godin’s work.  I think what he has to say is extremely relevant to anyone doing business today.  If you haven’t read anything of his, get started by going to his blog.  After that, do a search on YouTube and I guarantee you that you’ll spend close to an hour listening to him.  Here is a recent post from his blog that I found especially insightful.

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It’s unreasonable to get out of bed on a snow day, when school has been cancelled, and turn the downtime into six hours of work on an extra credit physics lab.

It’s unreasonable to launch a technology product that jumps the development curve by nine months, bringing the next generation out much earlier than more reasonable competitors.

It’s unreasonable for a trucking company to answer the phone on the first ring.

It’s unreasonable to start a new company without the reassurance venture money can bring.

It’s unreasonable to expect a doctor’s office to have a pleasant and helpful front desk staff.

It’s unreasonable to walk away from a good gig in today’s economy, even if you want to do something brave and original.

It’s unreasonable for teachers to expect that we can enable disadvantaged inner city kids to do well in high school.

It’s unreasonable to treat your colleagues and competitors with respect given the pressure you’re under.

It’s unreasonable to expect that anyone but a great woman, someone with both drive and advantages, could do anything important in a world where the deck is stacked against ordinary folks.

It’s unreasonable to devote years of your life making a product that most people will never appreciate.

Fortunately, the world is filled with unreasonable people. Unfortunately, you need to compete with them. 

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SOURCE: Godin, Seth. “Unreasonable.” Seth Godin’s Blog. 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 03 Feb. 2011. <http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/02/unreasonable.html>.