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#81 – Uncovering Shiny Object Syndrome

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Heather Porter 3 Comments

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Shiny Object SyndromeHey guys! Welcome to podcast #81! Today we are uncovering shiny object syndrome – that insidious disease which often infects entrepreneurs. What is it? Is there a cure? Could you be a victim?

What did Andrew and Heather learn this week?

Heather – Has been delving into split testing of different versions of the newsletter, one that is heavy on graphics and low on text and the other which is a text version with just a couple of images. Interestingly there is no difference at all after 3 weeks of testing! The same types of results are happening for both. The great news for everyone out there is that you don’t need a fancy template – just make sure you’re delivering good content.

Andrew – Noticed that Gmail are rolling out an unsubscribe button right at the top of emails so that it is more prominent. People no longer have to scroll through emails to find how to unsubscribe – could this result in more unsubscribes? Google’s take on it is that people will be less likely to report you as spam as they can easily see how to unsubscribe.

Shiny Object Syndrome

What is it?

As business owners and entrepreneurs we can often easily become distracted by the latest “shiny” thing and end up losing focus to pursue it. This ‘shiny object’ usually promises to make your life easier, help you lose weight, make you lots of money etc…

Symptoms

Shifting focus from the core of your business to buy into this latest thing. Productivity is railroaded and the chances are you have a bunch of these things which you have bought. In website terms, you will probably spend a lot of time trying to learn this new thing and not realising that it is really just distracting you from your real work.

Shiny objects often take the form of add-ons to something that you already use. You end up spending hours learning how to make it work then by the time you’ve learnt it, it’s out of date!

Cure

Whenever these things come across your path, ask yourself these questions:

  • What is this going to achieve?
  • When am I going to be able to use it?
  • When am I going to be able to learn about it?
  • Do I really have the time? Or is my time better spent somewhere else?
  • Should I pay someone to learn this for me?
  • Is this going to help me improve my business right now?
  • Does it fit in with my current 90 day plan?
  • What sort of return can I expect from it?
  • Is it a “nice to have” or a “yes we need it”?

Take a look at the shiny object, but let it simmer in the sidelines – walk away while you think about it! If it’s just going to cause a distraction put it away for later. You can also try the following:

  • Find yourself an accountability partner who will question you on the shiny objects. This could be your business partner or someone who is a business owner in a different industry.
  • Get into a mastermind where business owners are there to collectively further their businesses.

Do you have a possible shiny object you’d like to ask us about? We’re happy to check them out and let you know what we think! Leave a comment below…

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