being authentically useful
You don't want Weekend Pete fixing your Saas problems.
Weekend Pete gets grumpy when the drive belt on the mower snaps. He decides to fix that problem another day.
Weekend Pete looks at the state of his solar panels and thinks "That's clean enough."
Weekend Pete takes porch naps that start with "I'm closing my eyes for 10 minutes," and end an hour later.
No, you don't want Weekend Pete telling you how to drive B2B Saas revenue. Weekend Pete ain't your man.
But he is authentic. He's authentically fickle. Authentically easy-going and authentically lazy (when allowed).
That's why all the encouragement to "Be authentic" is BS. When do you want my Authentic Self? When I'm half way through a porch nap? Or at 11:15am on a Tuesday when I have a Downtown Binary track on repeat and I'm on a time-bending mission to build a better onboarding flow?
I like Porch Nap Pete. But not while I'm working.
When you're on LinkedIn or in a newsletter or discussing strategy, you want and need someone who is authentically capable and helpful. I am Professional Pete when I need to be. I'm Porch Nap when I want to be.
Nevermind the prompts to "bring your whole self" and "be authentically you."
Be the one who helps the most at the right times. And be OK with having a day or two when you're authentically not Professional.
Because when I come to you asking for professional help, I know you're not always in work mode, but I need you to be right now. Who is that person?
Show me that person so I know if I can work with them.
And then on the weekend we can crack a beer and laugh about porch naps and half-mown lawns.
Happy weekend y'all.
Peter