I think this short post from Seth Godin is important, especially from the perspective of a startup company. In a startup, the “self-starter” attitude and ability to be self-sufficient is all the more important. There is no formal management structure, few processes, and when the company is being created it takes mindshare and individual action to get things off the ground.

The relentless search for “tell me what to do” 

If you’ve ever hired or managed or taught, you know the feeling.

People are just begging to be told what to do. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest one is: “If you tell me what to do, the responsibility for the outcome is yours, not mine. I’m safe.”

When asked, resist.

Everyone is skilled at something and I believe that is our biggest weakness. People (that means you and me) have a tendency to trend towards a comfort zone, towards the things that are familiar and that we feel we can succeed at.

To develop ourselves personally, in our careers, and even to enhance those skills we are good at we have to get out of the box and stay outside of it for a sustained period of time.

If we’re “good” we can see those skills that are important but lacking. If we’re “great” we will stay focused on developing those skills and not be tempted back to the norm, back to the path of least resistance. The danger to our development is that we trick ourselves into thinking we really are stretching our abilities and facing down things we are not comfortable with.

If you work the most important general skill you can acquire and develop is marketing. Whether you’re a grunt in the trenches or a CEO leading the way, knowing how to market is going to be your biggest asset.

When do you market:

1. You market your self to your employers when you’re looking for a job.
2. You market your offering to your customers when you’re trying to sell a product or service.
3. You market your leadership to your employees when you’re trying to build teamwork and sell a vision.
4. You market your personal attributes to your co-workers when you’re trying to build consensus.
5. You market your productivity to your boss when you’re looking for a raise or increased responsibility.
6. You market your business to your investors or bank when you’re raising money.

When you market you need to know who you’re talking to, what they want and need, and how to communicate that you’ve got the goods. This analysis is the driver of all your business.