In The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene shares this Chinese legend. A general, Zhuge Liang, had a formidable reputation as one of the best military strategists of his time.
Once there was a time when his army was away, and he was resting in a small town with just 100 troops. He got wind of another general, Sima Yi, who was coming to attack with a force of 150,000 men.
He told his men to hide and flung open the gates, changed into Taoist robes, sat on the most visible part of the city’s wall, lit some incense and started playing his flute.
Even when he saw the army approach, he pretended to be completely engrossed in his music.
Such was his reputation that the enemy took this state of relaxation to mean that Zhuge Liang was so well prepared that if they were to attack now, they would surely meet their maker! Since all wise men are also scared men in the face of justifiable danger, they beat a speedy retreat.
Your track record becomes your alpha.
Here are three mental models I keep in mind when it comes to generating my alpha.
- Time is my friend
- Earn, don’t demand
- If I’m not winning, I’m learning
1. Time is my friend
Rory Sutherland, in his book Alchemy, mentions that European cafes that cater mainly to tourists have no qualms about overcharging them, and their service is at best indifferent.
On the other hand, cafes that mainly cater to locals are paranoid about pricing competitively and earning their trust.
We know the best brands are the most trusted to a large degree because their delivery has stayed consistent over time, regardless of whether you are a loyalist or a one-time buyer.
The same goes for people.
This took me some time to learn, because when I started my career, I was more task-oriented than people-oriented. It took me a lot of deliberate effort to shift my wiring towards learning more about what people I was working with really wanted.
When I start to forget, I remind myself that the same people are floating in our marketing and business community. And word of mouth signals our alpha.
If right at the beginning of our careers, we have a long-term view on relationships, we know that our paths will cross again, and we become more empathetic.
When we play the long game, we generate alpha.
2. Earn, don’t demand
There are only two feelings people have about their colleagues.
“We can trust Rashi to always help us deliver our projects on time. With her, there is no drama”
vs.
“It really depends on Rashi’s mood. She might delight us, or she might disappoint us. Let’s wait and see.”
Even without realising it, we prefer to work with the former and start avoiding the latter. If we have to demand to be included in meetings or to be promoted (unless there is some mega politics at play), the problem is us.
Alpha is earned, one task at a time. One mood at a time.
Consistency compounds. Even if you are inconsistently consistent, the world will remember.
3. If I’m not winning, I’m learning
If you woke me up at 3 AM and asked me to share some of my career successes, I would share some of my best stories, fully awake and energised.
If we stumble while sharing our own wins, who will ever trust us? I have spent hours and hours practising my ‘portfolio’ of stories from each brand, each year, each challenge of my career.
Yet, if I give an impression to people that I have been dipped in gold, I would lose trust. Because it is simply not true. All of us experience failure.
It takes some effort to process the learnings from our failures. It takes even more effort not to hide them but to openly share.
When I look back, I also realised that in roles where I did not ‘win’ promotions, or my colleagues got ahead faster, or my business did not become as big as it could have, I learnt the most.
Were it not for these humbling times, I would not have become a better marketer ot a better human.
The last word
We are made of our past deeds, and we make our future from our present
This is not a humble brag, just a fact that since I have left corporate, I have not ‘sold’ my consultancy services to anyone. Someone I have worked with earlier just calls.
Ask yourself. If you were to start over with just a laptop and an internet connection, would the phone ring?
If you have even a shred of doubt, start choosing wisely. Or live with regret.
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