Jeff Taylor in his parallel life as a DJ
Yesterday, I sent individual email invitations to a number or local leaders to be volunteer experts at the MassTLC Innovation 2010 unConference. One of them was Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, eons.com and Tribute.com. Exactly four minutes later, I got his response: "I'll do it." That made my day, and it led me to think about how different it feels when someone says yes quickly, vs saying yes (or no) after more time passes. Hopefully, we've all experienced that "fast yes" feeling. It's wonderful, empowering, and memorable.
I believe that the power of saying yes quickly comes from knowing that a quick answer is from the heart and genuine. You might think that if someone deliberated carefully for a long time, and then said yes, it might mean more. I'd say that's a different kind of yes...a "from the head" yes. I believe the two are quite different, and can lead you down very different paths in a relationship. Some people believe that responding quickly will lead to errors...saying yes when you should have said no. I doubt it. I believe when you have that urge to say yes quickly, it comes from a whole ton of processing that goes on in your brain, not just from the heart, but with lots of very fast logical input as well.
As I pondered this little thought, I remembered back to the first time I met Jeff Taylor, in 1999. I was making a movie for the City of Boston to be shown at the millennium fireworks celebration on the Common. The movie (only 3 minutes long, but very advanced for its day) was getting expensive, and I was looking for a partner in funding it. I met Jeff at his office in Maynard at Monster.com. I showed him what I was doing, and he said yes, right then and there. I still remember that meeting.
Here's the movie that resulted. (click the little box ...lower right...with four arrows to view full screen.) I still love watching it. This movie uses 3D graphics to show what major changes to Boston would look like in the new millennium. The idea is that our fictional delivery guys (they ARE the filmmakers) are running around with magic boxes that can show the future of each site. They slam the black box down, and out comes a view of the future.
At the time, the Red Sox owners were planning to tear down Fenway Park and build a new Fenway next door. We show it appear and assemble in 3D. Very cool. (Except it was a horrible idea...we are so lucky the new owners came in and upgraded Fenway and have polished the jewel rather than tearing it down). No one had any idea about the Zakim bridge. most people went by the partial concrete foundations and wondered a little. We show the bridge appear in 3D. So cool.
And when the movie was all done, I showed it to my son, who was four years old. He he loved it. But not for all the 3D visualizations we did. No, what he loved was the little monster that runs across the screen at the end with the last credit for Monster.com. After the monster ran by, he said "Again." That's the four-year old version of the fast yes. And it felt good.
So, next time your heart says yes and head says go, give a fast yes, and see how it changes people's lives, including yours.