Let’s talk about my favorite acronym: BOCTAOE.
This is an important (and implicit) disclaimer to strong statements.
You see, when you write missives like I do, it can be annoying when every single statement is qualified with words like
“generally”
“usually”
“most of the time”
“in most circumstances”
etc. etc. etc.
But if we’re being honest, virtually any statement you can make will have exceptions.
For instance, last week I wrote that most training gym owners will struggle to sell their business for a fat check. Now you’ll note, I said most training gym owners. So I’ve already qualified this as not being an absolute statement.
It makes my writing weaker. But I don’t care.
It’s not that I like conviction. It’s that using the word “most” makes it more factually accurate.
In other words…
BOCTAOE.
This is an acronym popularized by Scott Adams that stands for “but of course there are obvious exceptions.”
You can tack this on to any strongly worded maxim because, well…. There are always obvious exceptions.
(I addressed this in the very first maxim in my 40 Years, 40 Lessons post about my personal life philosophies.)
In other words…
Training gym owners need to be making at least $175/ avg. monthly revenue. for large group class memberships.*
*BOCTAOE
To grow your training gym, you need some kind of low barrier offer so clients can try before they buy.*
*BOCTAOE
If you have more than three service offerings, your business will drown in complexity*
*BOCTAOE
Moral of the story: even the best business maxim is not correct in all situations. One of the key tasks of lifelong learners is the never-ending process of contextualizing various pieces of business advice.
When faced with a maxim, rather than discount it if it doesn’t fit your experience, ask yourself “under what circumstances would this be correct?
Because if and when you think YOUR business is different, 99% of the time you’re wrong.*
*BOCTAOE
Love ya,
PS The Unicorn Society is off to a rocking start with our newest batch of super achievers.
Not gonna lie… pretty excited about an opportunity for us to gather in-person in just a few months.
Enrollment is technically closed until 2022, but you can join the waitlist for priority consideration HERE.