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While it may certainly help to hang out in the right places, there's two reason this won't work out: 1) At least where I live (Italy), hanging out with the "ri

While it may certainly help to hang out in the right places, there's two reason this won't work out: 1) At least where I live (Italy), hanging out with the "right" people just isn't enough. You have to have deeper connections with somebody (for example, they're in some way connected to your family) before you can get some kind of attention from the "right" people. 2) The author implies that what you are able to do is just not relevant. While I've found out that is certainly true, I personally think that it's very unhealthy for you as an individual to completely drop all of your skills except for the social skill (which seems to be the only thing that matters, especially when dealing with the "right" people).

deleted 15y ago
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HeyLaughingBoy 15y ago
Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because "that's where the money is." If you need to meet people, the first thing to do is make sure you can be where they are. Likewise, if you need clients/customers, you have to find them before doing anything else. All the other stuff surrounding getting a product done is meaningless if you can't find someone to sell it to. I think his point is that you have to find out what's important and do that before anything else. If you want to date supermodels, figure out where to go to meet them before you worry about getting in shape/buying new clothes/any other peripheral activity. Honestly, you'd be amazed how often simply being in the right place is all you need (at least here in the US).
- andreadallera 15y ago
  I know that's true - probably not in Italy, but certainly it works better than building a great product and then trying to sell it. > if you need clients/customers, you have to find them before doing anything else. All the other stuff surrounding getting a product done is meaningless if you can't find someone to sell it to. I can't see a society where this is true going somewhere - just my point of view.
  - NickPollard 15y ago
    He is not saying that the skills required to build the product are not necessary, he is just saying they are not sufficient. You need to be able to build the product, AND have people to sell it to. Having people to sell it to first helps you build the right product in the first place. In the supermodel example, you might still need to go to the gym and buy a flashier car, but you won't know that until you actually start meeting supermodels and talking to them.
    - iodave 15y ago
      Exactly. He's not discounting any of the other stuff that's required. He's just emphasizing that you should fish where the fish are.
- ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
  "If you need to meet people, the first thing to do is make sure you can be where they are." Or, you can work to put the right people where you need them to be. I recall an interview, from long ago, with Peter Sellers, the actor who played Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series. I don't remember the exact words, but he said something to the effect that when he needed a job, he didn't go about finding one in the usual manner. Instead, he would manipulate events such that an opportunity would spring into existence, one which would be made just for him. EDIT: I note that this is my first HN comment of the new year. I should take this as a sign, and maybe try to be more like Peter Sellers, at least in regard to what I said above. EDIT: I also note that he has a website, even though he's been dead for more than three decades. http://PeterSellers.com http://PeterSellers.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sellers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sellers EDIT: "I feel ghostly unreal until I become someone else again on the screen." This quote, from his website, makes me wonder if that's one of the things which is at the root of an entrepreneur, because it's almost as if many of the people who create startups do it partly for the purpose of becoming someone or something else, as an actor would in a new role, especially if, like Peter Sellers, they tailor the role to themselves, rather than stepping into one which is prêt-à-porter.
vidarh 15y ago
You're over-thinking this. He's not saying that to get a supermodel girlfriend you should hang out in a cafe and do nothing but hitting on supermodels. Sure, that might improve your odds of meeting one even more, but it'll be detrimental to your life in all kinds of other ways. He's saying you take your normal work (and spare time) and carry it out in a place where you're more likely to meet the super models than where you'd otherwise spend your time. In other words: Identify "low cost" changes that create more opportunities to meet the type of people you want to meet by making sure you are in the right place. Even if you otherwise spend your time doing the same things as before. Changing your working location so that you're surrounded by the type of people you want to meet is a low cost proposition. Changing where you hang out when you go out is another one. Choosing the parties you go to or conferences you go to with care is another one. Making the choice to go out instead of staying in and watching TV is yet another.

deleted 15y ago

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HeyLaughingBoy 15y ago

Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because "that's where the money is." If you need to meet people, the first thing to do is make sure you can be where they are. Likewise, if you need clients/customers, you have to find them before doing anything else. All the other stuff surrounding getting a product done is meaningless if you can't find someone to sell it to. I think his point is that you have to find out what's important and do that before anything else. If you want to date supermodels, figure out where to go to meet them before you worry about getting in shape/buying new clothes/any other peripheral activity. Honestly, you'd be amazed how often simply being in the right place is all you need (at least here in the US).

andreadallera 15y ago
I know that's true - probably not in Italy, but certainly it works better than building a great product and then trying to sell it. > if you need clients/customers, you have to find them before doing anything else. All the other stuff surrounding getting a product done is meaningless if you can't find someone to sell it to. I can't see a society where this is true going somewhere - just my point of view.
- NickPollard 15y ago
  He is not saying that the skills required to build the product are not necessary, he is just saying they are not sufficient. You need to be able to build the product, AND have people to sell it to. Having people to sell it to first helps you build the right product in the first place. In the supermodel example, you might still need to go to the gym and buy a flashier car, but you won't know that until you actually start meeting supermodels and talking to them.
  - iodave 15y ago
    Exactly. He's not discounting any of the other stuff that's required. He's just emphasizing that you should fish where the fish are.
ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
"If you need to meet people, the first thing to do is make sure you can be where they are." Or, you can work to put the right people where you need them to be. I recall an interview, from long ago, with Peter Sellers, the actor who played Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series. I don't remember the exact words, but he said something to the effect that when he needed a job, he didn't go about finding one in the usual manner. Instead, he would manipulate events such that an opportunity would spring into existence, one which would be made just for him. EDIT: I note that this is my first HN comment of the new year. I should take this as a sign, and maybe try to be more like Peter Sellers, at least in regard to what I said above. EDIT: I also note that he has a website, even though he's been dead for more than three decades. http://PeterSellers.com http://PeterSellers.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sellers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sellers EDIT: "I feel ghostly unreal until I become someone else again on the screen." This quote, from his website, makes me wonder if that's one of the things which is at the root of an entrepreneur, because it's almost as if many of the people who create startups do it partly for the purpose of becoming someone or something else, as an actor would in a new role, especially if, like Peter Sellers, they tailor the role to themselves, rather than stepping into one which is prêt-à-porter.

vidarh 15y ago

You're over-thinking this. He's not saying that to get a supermodel girlfriend you should hang out in a cafe and do nothing but hitting on supermodels. Sure, that might improve your odds of meeting one even more, but it'll be detrimental to your life in all kinds of other ways. He's saying you take your normal work (and spare time) and carry it out in a place where you're more likely to meet the super models than where you'd otherwise spend your time. In other words: Identify "low cost" changes that create more opportunities to meet the type of people you want to meet by making sure you are in the right place. Even if you otherwise spend your time doing the same things as before. Changing your working location so that you're surrounded by the type of people you want to meet is a low cost proposition. Changing where you hang out when you go out is another one. Choosing the parties you go to or conferences you go to with care is another one. Making the choice to go out instead of staying in and watching TV is yet another.