How I Avoid The Wrong Advice

Updated version (after thinking about this more deeply): The Four Types of Advice That Can Make or Break Your Business

When you’re eager to grow and don’t have the answers, even the worst advice looks like gold.

When I started my one-person business, I viewed all advice as words of opportunity. I assumed their words had value because they had the advice to give. That was a misstep on my part.

Good advisors are engaged listeners, not confident talkers.

When you understand the 4 types of advice, you are better equipped to cut through the noise and find what’s right for you. This newsletter will help you understand the following:

• What each type sounds like?

• What it’s designed to achieve?

• What must you consider?

• How can you use it to help you?

If you’re a driven beginner (and advice seeker), let me save you the trouble and help you avoid the wrong advice.

1. “Copy & Paste” Advice

It sounds like: “I achieved XYZ outcome, and here’s how I did it…”

It’s designed to advise through achievement.

It’s important to consider the narrowness of this advice. It focuses on the specific problem, ignoring your perspective, circumstances, and experience level. Despite its practicality, it’s overly simplified and compelling, which may fool you into thinking simple means easy.

Use this to solve low-risk problems or as a means to learn the fundamentals for solving similar problems. Deeply rooted and long-term problems require specialized consideration, not a copy & paste solution.

2. “In Your Shoes” Advice

It sounds like: “If I were you, I would…”

It’s designed to advise through expertise.

It’s important to consider your advisor’s skill set in relation to yours. If it focuses on the problem and circumstances, it ignores your perspective and experience level. Even though it is easy to give, it barely considers you.

Use this to identify obstacles and opportunities from their lens. Since your advisor is playing as if they are in the situation, you can throw them hypothetical scenarios to see how they react. Doing so will allow you to see the stepping stones more clearly instead of just the high-level advice.

3. “Perspective” Advice

It sounds like: “I think you should do…”

It’s designed to advise through empathy.

It’s important to consider their rationale. It heavily relies on them understanding your circumstances and experience. However, it ignores your perspective. Despite its thoughtful nature, looking through someone else’s eyes is difficult.

Use this to build an inventory of concrete examples or case studies to draw from in the future. Get second opinions and assess how their examples fit your problem, circumstances, and experience.

4. “Choose Your Option” Advice

It sounds like: “If you choose this option, then that will probably happen…”

It’s designed to advise through coaching and consulting.

It’s important to consider their ability to see the big picture. It focuses on the problem, scenario, and solution, avoiding telling you what to do. Despite its objective nature, it places the greatest degree of responsibility on you.

Use this to solve strategic, long-term problems. It requires you to think clearly and deeply about your expertise and the assumptions that led the advisor to the outcomes. This advice never tells you what to do; it shows you what could happen and then lets you decide.

When you’re ready to level up — here are 2 ways I can help you:

I’m Peter, a former Harvard strategist turned entrepreneur — I help businesses and organizations make the strategic decisions that move the needle.

• Want to become a better business thinker (or build a team of thinkers)? Book a 20-minute call to learn more about the business thinker advisory program to build an unfair advantage in your business.

• Want to grow your small business profits in 60 days? Learn how simple operating and finance moves can turn your business into a well-oiled, profit-printing machine, so you'll get more for every ounce of effort you put in.