In an interview with Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, he mentions how he connected some dots that really paid off: a mega-deal with Wal-Mart wherein Wal-Mart handed over their online dvd business to Netflix.
First dot: Hastings observes that Wal-Mart enters the online dvd market with modest promotional efforts.
Second dot: Hastings is impressed with Wal-Mart's dvd prices during a Christmas shopping visit.
Third dot: He called the CEO (of Walmart.com) and asked if he could have dinner.
Sounds like Hastings wasn't afraid of:
- looking around him (noticing)
- facing reality (competition is unavoidable)
- seeing the competition as an ally (some call this "coopetition")
- certain doom (many predicted that the big chains would run Netflix into the ground)
Most importantly, Hastings wasn't afraid to ask one very important question. Well, two. The first was, "Wanna have dinner?" and the second was "How can we work together?"
What does this story have to do with EQ? Well, Hastings wasn't afraid, and if he was afraid, it didn't hold him back. He wasn't afraid of asking the right question, of finding the right question.
I suppose that not being afraid of these things is what makes entreprenuers entreprenuers, but there's something deeper.
Making connections. Creating stronger connections, in fact.
It's one thing to overcome fear, it's quite another to connect the dots that reveal the right question.
That requires a level of awareness that is not clouded by the emotions relevant to the situation and those that are not.
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