I once attended a private presentation by David Maister, author of The Trusted Advisor. He was a captivating and compelling speaker, and he said something that has stuck with me for years, and will probably stay with me forever:

We all know what to do. It’s just a matter of doing it.

We know, for example, that marketing is communication action wherein you tell as many prospective buyers as possible about our value. And yet, we spend time “researching” and “editing” and call it marketing. Do those things if they are a part of your job, but don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re marketing your value.

We know, also, that good marketing must be judged by how much revenue it generates. That’s the only truly meaningful  measure.  And yet we measure hits, followers, friends and awareness.

More than 400 people registered for my webinar this week. Most of them attended live. I made it clear this was a one-time, live event and that there would be no recording made available to the public. And yet, people still wrote me saying that they missed it or had to “jump off for a call,” and can I send them a recording?

We know what to do.

We know what the work is.

There are no secrets or magic bullets (despite the fact that millions of people go looking for them in books and events).

We know what the work is.

Now, we simply must do it.