Welcome to One Thing Better. Each week, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine (that's me) shares one way to achieve a breakthrough at work — and build a career or company you love.
Today's edition is sponsored by Riverside, the best way to host dynamic webinars and turn them into content. More details at the bottom.
What are you bad at?
I'm sure it's something. (OK, maybe many things.) You struggle. Fumble. Feel embarrassed and frustrated. Your failures make you question your skills and abilities.
Today, I'll share a revelation that completely changed how I think about my weaknesses.
Here it this: You're bad at something… because you're good at something else.
And once you recognize this, you can refocus your strengths for maximum impact.
But first, I'll back up and share my own frustrating struggle — and the important lesson it taught me.
When my strength became my weakness
I've done a lot of TV segments. They're usually about four minutes long, and I play the role of "business expert."
But here's a secret: I'm often frustrated by my performance.
TV makes me feel rushed and scattered. And this drives me crazy, because I pride myself on my communication skills. I should be better at it!
Recently, I spent some time pondering this. I asked myself: What actually makes me uncomfortable? It's not the camera, or the audience, or the subject matter...
Then it hit me: The problem is the time restriction.
I'm a great long-form storytelling. I know how to unfold a narrative, and how to break down complex ideas. I write long magazine articles, can speak on stage for an hour straight, and can go forever on podcasts
But TV needs snappy answers in 45 seconds — and I developed the totally opposite skillset.
In other words: I am bad at one thing because I am really good at something else.
And that's a powerful thing to recognize.
Funny thing — you know who else recognized it?
The wisdom of Beavis and Butthead
This is going to sound stupid, but: The first time I encountered this idea, it was on Beavis and Butt-Head.
It was strangely profound...
In case you're too young to remember: Beavis and Butt-Head were two cartoon idiots who watched music videos all day and obsessed over which bands were cool and which sucked. And in one epsiode, they had this exchange:
Beavis: "How come, like, some stuff sucks, but then, like, some stuff is pretty cool?"
Butt-Head: "Uhhh, well, if nothing sucked, and everything was cool all the time, then it's like, how would you know it was cool? … You need stuff that sucks to have stuff that's cool."
Butt-Head is saying that quality is relative. Bad experiences enables us to recognize and appreciate good ones, and visa versa.
And if that's the case, then bad things serve a purpose — because they can help us recognize and lean into our true strengths.
You have a version of this too
Maybe you relate to this because…
You're bad at small talk because you're great at deep, meaningful conversations.
You're disorganized because you're great at creative, big-picture thinking
You're slow to make decisions because you're great at considering all angles thoroughly.
You're bad at multitasking because you're great at focused, deep work.
Here's another, more personal example from me: I'm not very emotional, which has its downsides. (Just ask my wife.) But the upside is that I rarely get rattled, and I can always be called upon in difficult situations.
We tend to think of our traits as separate and unrelated — we're just good at this, and bad at that. But they're often two sides of the same coin.
So, what do we do about this?
Recently, I was talking with Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec — and he had some interesting advice about this whole thing:
He said that entrepreneurs often work on the wrong parts of themselves. They become obsessed with their weaknesses, and focus heavily on fixing them. But Robert thinks that's foolish.
"The world is so competitive," he said, "that you have to take the things you're good at and become great at them. Because if you focus on the things you're not good at, someone's going to eat your lunch."
Robert isn't saying to give up, of course. We should always push ourselves into uncomfortable territories, and always strive to improve.
But we should also embrace a form of maximizing — of knowing what we're great at, and using it to our advantage.
Find your strength in your weakness
So if you're feeling bad about something you're not good at, ask yourself this question:
"Am I bad at this because I am great at something else?"
Then anchor yourself to that greatness.
For example: I'll still go on TV, and I'll still work to get better — but the stakes now feel lower. I know that I don't need TV, because I know where my true opportunities lie. So that's where I'll spend most of my energy. And that's where I must be great.
The world doesn't need you to do everything. It needs you to be singularly exceptional. So use your disappointments to show you the way.
That's how to do one thing better.
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P.P.S. I speak at events, and would love to speak at yours! I've keynoted for major brands like Clorox, Pfizer, Google, and Crocs, helping teams thrive in times of change. I'd love to help yours. See me in action and get in touch.
P.P.P.S. Send this newsletter to someone who needs it! Forward to them, or just send this link to today's edition.
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