Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success – Gary Vaynerchuk
Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success is a book written by Gary Vaynerchuk and published in 2021. The book is based on Gary Vaynerchuk’s personal experiences, and explores the twelve essential emotional skills that he believes are necessary for business success.
The book provides practical advice and guidance on how to develop these emotional skills, as well as how to use them to better navigate the business world.
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The strongest person is someone who’s able to deploy kindness in the face of the opposite.
Technical skills are a distant second to mastering soft skills.
Empathy
The ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Gary Vee:
I deploy empathy and kindness against hate because I know it takes more strength to be empathetic.
When you can feel what another is feeling, you develop an extraordinary ability to manipulate human beings. I believe it’s the ultimate superpower.
Kindness
The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.
For me, it’s about being kind to those who have put me in a difficult position. Being kind is easy when it’s easy. Being kind when you’re under pressure is tough.
The strongest person is someone who’s able to deploy kindness in the face of the opposite.
You can be kind, be candid, and hold your ground all at the same time.
Tenacity
The quality or fact of being very determined; determination
If you want to be successful in anything, I do believe that tenacity is essential. However, it should never come at the expense of your peace of mind and happiness.
Burnout is a physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress. Tenacity is determination.
Curiosity
Curiosity is the strong desire to know or learn something.
The word curiosity is underrated in our society. It feels fluffy, academic, and childish, but I believe it’s one of the most important characteristics for success in business.
Curiosity mixed with empathy can lead to intuition.
The two words that stand out to me in the definition of curiosity are strong and learn. To maximize the value of curiosity, you need a strong work ethic. You need a strong desire to continue learning, no matter how much you’ve accomplished.
Patience
The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
When you have a good relationship with time, the pressure is lifted and you can do so much more.
Insecurity festers without the fertilizer of patience.
When you don’t enjoy the process, you become more vulnerable to burnout.
When you’re patient as a leader, you can give your employees room to grow and develop over time.
Conviction
A firmly held belief or opinion
Stating your convictions out loud is a vulnerability. You might be wrong.
Conviction is the north star that keeps you on track, helping you be tenacious throughout your journey, despite the inevitable difficulties.
Humility
A modest or low view of one’s own importance; humbleness.
Humility is a requirement if you want to cultivate a lasting positive reputation and leave an admirable legacy.
It’s one of the most attractive traits human beings can have.
Let me ask you this question: Would you want to have the people who know you the least think you’re the best, and the people who know you the best think you’re the worst? I genuinely believe this is a question most people need to ask themselves.
Ambition
A strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.
People tend to have an unhealthy relationship with ambition partly because they use it as a cover-up for their insecurities.
Gary Vee:
Life is a joy when you have good relationships with your ambitions. I wake up every morning and chase my dream, yet I’m so not in need of achieving it. It’s a beautiful blend of conviction and humility. I fully believe I’ll make it, yet I don’t need to make it.
Real-Life Scenarios where these Emotional Ingredients help
- Negotiating a raise
- Getting your boss to recognize your efforts
- Watching your colleague get a promotion over you
- Confronting a business partner who stole from you
- Voicing mental health concerns at work
- Improving your team’s enthusiasm, drive, and overall performance
- Being thrust into a management position unexpectedly
- Staying ahead of the curve with new innovations
- Deciding whether to stay at a job or pursue a side hustle full-time
