It’s a compliment…really!
To best social users really suck…sorry but it needs to be said.
The more I see the cream rising to the top, the more obvious it is that the best people in the world of anything really suck!
Honestly, the greater you want to become at anything, the more you need to suck in the beginning. And as your greatness increases, the more you have to keep sucking at it.
I had the great honour of spending time with Walter Gretzky and naturally being a fan of the “Great One”, hockey and the first father of hockey, I sucked in everything he had to say. He told me an amazing story about the “Great One”. When Wayne was little he would lay in front of the TV on Saturday night with a pencil and a piece of paper. He drew the ice surface on the paper and then for the whole game he would track on the paper where the puck went during the game.
You don’t become this great unless you suck first
The “Grateful One” (Walter, thanks for the name @RLavigne42 (Robert Lavigne)), had no idea what it was when the game was over. Wayne explained that by figuring out where the puck was most often in a game, he could predict where it would be and therefore, he could position himself to be there before the puck. Let’s face it, Gretzky revolutionized hockey with his play. He wasn’t the fastest or the biggest, but he was the smartest.
Wayne sucked in information that most of us never would have considered. Then he went out and executed and the rest is history. He never stopped learning either. He never stopped sucking in information to make sure he stayed on top of his game. Wayne had a natural talent, but he didn’t rely on it. He also developed his brain for the game and studied how the movement of the puck, his opponents influenced the play.
Now every professional athlete reviews tape, coverage’s, game plans before they suit up. They suck in all the information they can to be at the top of their game.
Policing is the exact same. When we are young in our careers we suck in all the information we can. We study movements, watch our opponents, interact with our community and study how the great coppers play their role. After a few years many get comfortable and go through the motions of doing the job they now well, while others go beyond and become great. They continue to suck in everything they can to be the best at their game.
The best players I have seen in the social media game suck in all the information they can about their craft. They don’t just tweet, post, share and comment. They research, learn, study and refine how they do things. You can’t live a life of theory though, you need to execute what you learn and analyze your results.
If you wan to be great at anything you need to suck first.
In practice you could put it into play this way. You want to provide your community a crime prevention tip through a Facebook post about securing your house when you’re in the back yard. The post could be something like this…
Remember if you’re entertaining in your backyard or doing yard work, make sure to lock your windows and doors and close your garage. You don’t want to provide the bad people with an easy way into your life.
That’s good but why not really suck first. Go through your crime reports and look for how many homes in your community have been entered using tools of opportunity from a shed or garage, or how many entries were right through an open window or door.
Don’t be a victim of opportunity
Take a picture of a home with a front facing garage door wide open. Suck in as much information as YOU can about your post before you make it and provide greater content for your audience. Let your audience know how easy it is to become a victim with stats that can hit home.
Be great…suck!
