Wes Kao — Blog

When friends give you advice, they may perceive you as the foil

All advice is autobiographical. We know to take people’s advice with a grain of salt.

But there are other, more serious implications of advice being autobiographical.

In fiction, a foil is the person opposite the protagonist. The foil is there to show who the protagonist isn’t.

The foil dramatizes the main character’s traits.

In your friend’s mind, they are the protagonist. Not you. Just like in your own head, you’re the protagonist.

When friends make you the foil, they give you advice as “you in relation to them” versus “you as an individual.”

CareerWes KaoJune 10, 2020Career

Reverse engineer your marketing strategy

There are lots of marketing tactics available to all of us. Everywhere you turn, there are tactics for every channel: growth marketing, SEO, conversion optimization, etc.

The hard part is figuring out what’s right for you and your situation.

If you ask me, “I want to do a podcast. Is this a good idea?” I can’t answer that off the top of my head.

Why?

Because everything works but not everything will work for you.

This sounds simple, but this single concept encompasses why marketing is both an art and a science. There’s no such thing as an objectively good or bad tactic.

StrategyWes KaoJune 3, 2020Strategy

People judge the average of your achievements, not the cumulative

When we want to impress, we often feel the urge to name every single thing we’ve done.

Every skill we have.

Every client we’ve ever worked with.

Anything we’ve attempted.

We think the more we add to the list, the greater our accomplishments will seem.

But more isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s actually worse. Why?

PositioningWes KaoMay 26, 2020Positioning

The rise of the end-to-end marketer

Employees used to swim in their own lane. That doesn’t work anymore.

At all types of organizations, I’m seeing more high-performers get rewarded when they can handle projects end-to-end. If a normal marketer is an infantry soldier, these marketers are Navy SEALs. They can parachute into unknown territory to quickly assess a situation. Then determine the best course of action.

They are highly trained, flexible, disciplined, and razor sharp in their execution.

End-to-end marketers have a vision, can develop a strategy, and can execute to bring their idea to life.

Rigorous ThinkingWes KaoMay 19, 2020Rigorous thinking, Career, Future of Work

Turn bugs into features

The best marketers can turn a bug into a feature. What does this mean? The things you thought you were errors, constraints, or liabilities about your product, could actually become selling points you emphasize.

MarketingWes KaoMay 12, 2020Marketing

Read this before your next marketing experiment

A/B testing costs more than you think.

At first glance, marketing experiments seem free. They’re a data-driven way to validate your assumptions and understand what customers want, before going all in.

But when we talk about the benefits of marketing experiments, we don't usually talk about the costs associated with those experiments. When you factor in the complexity and overhead involved, it's very possible an experiment isn't worth your time.

This is a wake up call for folks who think testing everything is a good idea.

The next time someone asks you to “do a quick test,” think about whether the experiment will generate insights worth the investment.

MarketingWes KaoMay 5, 2020Marketing

Be a perfectionist for customer-facing material

Cutting corners in the traditional sense is slimy and sometimes illegal. A construction company could cut corners by using cheap materials.

That’s really bad.

I hate the idea of lazy shortcuts. If the idea of cutting corners gives you a panic attack, I’m right there with you.

But why do people think about cutting corners in the first place?

Because most of us are under increasing pressure to do more, within the same time and budget constraints.

With more to do, but less time to do it, how do you manage to get it all done?

LeadershipWes KaoApril 28, 2020Leadership

Match your CEO’s pace—and they will think you’re the best hire

Meetings with CEOs can go in any direction.

Like doctors with bad handwriting, CEOs and founders are notorious for going off on tangents or unexpectedly changing the topic.

This is rightfully stressful for their teams. Especially if you went in with one idea, and within five minutes, they’re asking you about something else.

In the past 13 years, both in-house and now as a consultant, I’ve been in my fair share of meetings with CEOs. And I’ve been caught off guard enough times to develop a process for how to prepare.

LeadershipWes KaoApril 21, 2020Leadership

You don’t need to start at entry level

A coaching client with 7 years of work experience at a medtech startup wanted to do a career switch. She wanted to move into consumer goods, so she did informational interviews.

The advice she got?

“Start at entry level and work your way up, so you can get your foot in the door.”

I was shocked. (And insulted on her behalf.)

Look, if you want to become an ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON… Then yes, you should start at entry level.

Any change less dramatic than that probably means you have SOME transferable skills.

CareerWes KaoApril 15, 2020Career

The problem with glorifying failure

Startup culture glorifies failure.

We all know the quote from Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

What most people fail to mention is this quote works because Edison DID eventually find a way that worked.

He’s credited with inventing the first practical incandescent light bulb.
He has over 1,000 patents for his inventions.
He's described as America's greatest inventor.

In other words… HE WAS SUCCESSFUL.

Leveling upWes KaoApril 7, 2020Leveling up