Should I Explore Or Exploit

I think that exploring and exploiting is one of the fundamental aspects of entrepreneurship that most coaches don’t dedicate enough time to

There’s the sleazier side of the industry who are literally just out to exploit and bleed people dry

And then there’s the softer side who love exploring through courses, books, webinars etc

But never get to the point of offering anything to the market

The reality is that exploring and exploiting are both crucial - and they work together, not individually

Think of it like a prospector and a mine

Exploring is prospecting - wandering the hills, panning streams, looking for shit

Exploiting is mining - once you’ve found something, you dig and pull the gold out

(I’ve now exhausted my knowledge of mining, if you couldn’t tell - but it served this analogy, I think).

Three things stop coaches doing this

Being aware that it’s something they should think about (I’ve just solved this, you’re welcome)

Knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie

Finding time for both

I know that I’m a very good explorer - I’m naturally curious, I feel like sometimes I experience the world slightly different to other people in our industry - which works to my advantage

I also know that I’m not the best exploiter - in the sense that once I’ve done the fun exploring and idea for the exploitation - I tend to stop there.

Plus, I try to exploit too many things at once - which limits my exploration time - and the standard of my thinking slips

I’ve spoken about the Google 80/20 week before - Google staff were given 1 day off per week to do whatever they wanted in the company and just dream stuff up

It was the catalyst for some of their biggest products (and billions in revnue)

So I’m working on ensuring I have space for exploration - to then firm up what I should be trying to exploit

I suggest you start here, too