
What's your super power? - peter123
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/03/whats-your-super-power.html
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patio11
Like most Seth Godin pieces its a little more on the touchy-feely big-thinking
than it is on the specifics.

Here's what I'd say: have an elevator pitch for yourself, as opposed to just
having one for your startup. Here's mine, which has worked pretty decently the
last few years for me:

Japan and America trade about $200 billion a year with each other. Roughly
half of that is technology which didn't exist in 1950. Less than one American
engineer in 10,000 speaks Japanese. You're looking at one of them. Were you
happy with how your last US/Japan programming project turned out?

I wouldn't call it a superpower -- just enough to get people to remember why
they have my business card in their folder. They're almost always asking right
after they come to a pain point for lack of a bilingual engineer and the great
thing about the pitch is it means I've got excellent odds of being the only
responsive hit in their business card book.

(Sidenote: business cards. They're like the uniform for you super power, I
guess. Because he wouldn't be Superman without the big S on his chest telling
everyone "Yep, that's right, this guy is Superman".)

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swombat
Interesting... and yet, on the other hand, listing your "superpowers" as part
of your introduction might well appear extremely arrogant.

How do you phrase your "superpowers" in a way that doesn't automatically give
you the additional implicit superpower of being an arrogant prick?

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patio11
Create value for the other guy with your "superpower".

Hi, my name's Clark Kent, and I'm _really_ handy to know if you're frequently
kidnapped.

In a business setting, something a little more prosaic. You've probably heard
someone say something like "Let me know if you ever have a problem with ..."
before, right? People say that because _it works_. Mental note: if I ever have
an X, _knowing this guy helps me_ un-X.

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joshsharp
I think that's a great way to put it, better than any of the other approaches
listed here. Useful without seeming arrogant. Actually, it comes across as
being generous.

"I do X. Let me know if you ever need ..."

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markessien
I can grow my fingernails really quick. Not everyone gets the useful super
powers.

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joechung
This seemed like a roundabout way for Seth to say, "Hi, I'm Seth, and I once
sat by a Supreme Court Justice at a conference."

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Alex3917
Hi, I'm Alex, and I've seen everything on the Internet.

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trapper
Do you remember it or is it just in and out?

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Alex3917
I don't remember the specifics of every webpage, but I remember the general
idea and enough about the page so that I could find it again. So, for example,
if someone wanted to see an example of what the financial assumptions for a
startup should look like, I remember that Guy Kawasaki is the one who posted
about that on his blog and I could find the link in two or three minutes.

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twoz
Or we could just use our Google and Delicious utility belts for those of us
who don't have your particular superpower. :)

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Flemlord
I can throw a playing card more than a hundred feet.

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trapper
Really?

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Flemlord
Yup. Like this:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhx8__Np_cM>

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jreposa
Hi, I'm Jason, and I connect people with technology.

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trapper
What sort of human-machine interface are you using?

