Let's talk about algorithms.
Specifically! Getting out of them.
Algorithms aren't bad. I want to say that up top because people equate algorithm = social media/AI = bad.
At their most basic, algorithms are a process or set of rules developed to solve or operate something.
Algorithms are about patterns and predictability.
That's great! We need both of these things in our lives. And, I studied physics for too long to not respect a good equation 😅.
The problem comes when we feel undesirably restricted by an algorithm, or at the mercy of one.
This is our signal to “get outside”.
Get outside of our routines, get outside of our patterns… Open ourselves up to something different when we want different.
Here's what all this makes me think of in the context of business/creativity:
— When was the last time you were delightfully surprised?
How often are you delightfully, or desirably, surprised by the world around you? By your physical environment, by what you consume online or offline, and by the people you interact with and the conversations you have…?
If the answer is “not often” or “not for a while”—and this is something you value—consider getting out of your algorithm by changing your inputs.
Take a different route home (!!), shop at a different grocer, eat dinner on the floor, pick up a newspaper, go to a magazine/record shop, flip through one of the cookbooks you never use lol, ask a friend to share music with you…
The world opens up when you do.
— Do the assumptions you hold about business help or hinder you?
What have you learned about how to do business?
What assumptions or beliefs do you regularly find yourself repeating to yourself or others about your business, business in general, or your industry?
Where did you get this information?
It is evidence-based from your own experience (i.e. my clients really do have smaller budgets lately, or people's consumption/spending habits have shifted away from this and toward that). Is it what other people are experiencing? Or is it what other people told you you'd experience? (I'd pay particular attention to people without businesses/art practices telling you about business/art practices 😬).
If your assumptions aren't evidenced-based or are hindering your progress significantly… I'd take that as an invitation to “get out of your algorithm”.
Look for more supportive, expansive evidence of what's possible in your business or art.
Change your inputs, change your outputs.
— Who are you creating for?
Who are you trying to impress, basically.
Many of us want to be respected by our peers or other close groups like friends and family. That's fine. But if your peers aren't also your customers, be careful about building a business with the sole aim of impressing them.
Where are you in all of this? Where is your CUSTOMER? What would you do differently if you focused more on you/them?
Being overly focused on impressing our peers can look like: Getting another designation because it looks good, not because it'll actually help us serve or build trust with our customers. Getting a new camera lens thinking the slight increase in quality will help us charge more, when in reality we need a better client onboarding process (your client won't see the difference in quality, they will notice how well taken care of they feel).
Get outside the gravity of your industry. Impress yourself first.
That's what I'll leave you with this weekend:
"Get outside”. Impress yourself. Try something new.
Respond and let me know how you might be “getting out of your algorithm” this summer.
Waving from a park Toronto,
