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1、How To Harness The Power of NumbersJuly 18, 2013 4,028 85 31TweetinShare355Many people give up on a dream or dont even get started because theyre intimidated by the size of the effort involved.Want to launch a business? It can sound too hard if you think about the thousands of tasks and decisions an
2、d steps involved. Want to finish a marathon? It can sound too hard if you consider the hundreds of miles of training youll need to run. Want to write a book? It can sound too hard if you think about the tens of thousands of words youll need to write.Thats the negative power of numbers. Fortunately,
3、theres a way to harness the power of numbers on your side and all it takes is a simple shift in perspective.The Power of QuantityCheck out this passage from Andre Agassis autobiography,Open:“Every ball I send across the net joins the thousands that are already covering the court. Not hundreds. Thous
4、ands. They roll toward me in perpetual waves. I have no room to turn, to step, to pivot. I cant move without stepping on a ballEvery third ball hits a ball already on the ground, causing a crazy sideways hop. I adjust at the last second, catch the ball early, and hit it smartly across the net. I kno
5、w this is no ordinary reflex. I know there are few children in the world that could have seen that ball, let alone hit itMy father says that if I hit 2,500 balls each day, Ill hit 17,500 balls each week, and at the end of one year Ill have hit nearly one million balls. He believes in math. Numbers,
6、he says, dont lie. A child who hits one million balls each year will be unbeatable.”The difference in perspective is simple yet incredibly powerful. Instead of thinking, “Theres no wayI could ever hit a million balls” Agassi thinks, “Theresno way I can loseif I hit a million balls.”The Power of Rati
7、osOr consider whatBufferfounderJoel Gascoignecalls “Ratio Thinking”:I think we all understand that we might not get a 100% success rate on everything we do. In fact, in most cases it is far lower. For myself, I think I have struggled to fully comprehend this.Ive heard the idea of a ratio for success
8、 many times. I think perhaps the best description Ive come across what Jim Rohn describes as the “law of averages:“If you do something often enough, youll get a ratio of results. Anyone can create this ratio.”Once I fully understood this, it made everything much easier. As soon as I accepted that th
9、e whole world works in ratios, thats when it became easier. Knowing that success happens in ratios allowed me to go ahead and send that email, without worrying about not getting a response, about failing.According to Joel, the law of averages is the perfect example that persistence is a crucial trai
10、t for anyone who wants to succeed in a major way.I use the power of numberswhen I make angel investments. I know every company I invest in wont succeed. So I do no real due diligence (in most cases, I dont even meet with the founders or schedule a call), dont make follow-on investments, dont serve o
11、n advisory boards or have official involvement either I like the founders or I dont, and either I like the idea or I dont (which is largely irrelevant because the idea will undoubtedly change as the company evolves.)Why? My real constraint is time. Im maniacally obsessed with helping buildHubSpotint
12、o a success story thats where all my time goes. So I optimize for my time, not for some theoretical magnitude of outcome. And I know that the numbers are on my side. On average, angel investments do pretty well (given a large enough portfolio). I accept that some investments will do well, others won
13、t the key is to keep investing in new Internet/software startups and let the power of numbers play its role. Note: I have now invested in over 40 companies.(And, of course, let the power of investing in really, really smart entrepreneurs play its even more important role.)The Power of ApplicationAll
14、 you have to do is put the real power of numbers to work.Say you want to deliver a killer presentation. Instead of taking an intimidated, defeatist approach by thinking, “Oh, man, Ill need to rehearse my presentation at least ten times before Ill be any good theres just no way” flip it around and th
15、ink, “All I have to do is rehearse my presentation ten times and Ill be awesome!”Think positively and focus on an awesome outcome, an outcome that is inevitable when all you need to do is take the right number of steps.Hundreds of steps? Maybe. Thousands of steps? Maybe. Who cares? When you take the
16、 right number steps success is almost inevitable.Or say you want to recruit an awesome designer for your startup. Maybe youve found you have to contact twenty potential candidates to get two interviews, and that typically one of those two interviews results in an offer. And half the people you make an offer to will accept.All you have to do is make connection with 40
