As part of the ongoing mental gymnastics and self examination prior to our rebirth as Key People of Influence, Glen Carlson, asked us to indulge in a wee fairy fantasy at one of our recent course get togethers.
Participant beware. It’s the ‘little’ questions like ‘what do you do’, and ‘who do you do it for’ that can become the biggest hurdles when you are required to be rigorous within such a process.
So taking part in a fairy fantasy should have had the alarm bells ringing.
We explored the idea first that progression is not linear, not one quantum leap after the other, but made up of a series of ‘little’ wins with the odd leap thrown in.
Our personal attainment chart might therefore look much like a stock market graph. Despite the WFC and recent allied global financial crises, it just keeps tracking upwards. The progression is most often in incremental leaps followed by incremental dips, then a great leap, followed fortunately by a not so often death-defying drop. But always onwards and upwards.
During the course, you’re digging deep to completely understand for whom you’re solving what problem in order that your solution will naturally engage your market in everything you do: pitch, book, product, profile, partnerships.
It all sounds deceptively simple, until you take part in a fantasy fairy story designed to demonstrate just how much you know (or don’t know) about those with whom you intend to play. Play, not work, assuming you’ve achieved the quintessential sweet spot: You’re valued and paid appropriately for doing what you love.
We were asked to imagine that this group of people were all happy when you described them as: ‘BLANK’. My mind went equally blank.
What would make my people happy to be described as; passionate business people? Successful at what they do? I know what I want them to be described as: ‘Leaders of their tribes, loving the difference they’re making’ but would that really make them happy? You see the difficulty.
So here’s a challenge for you. Create a fantasy town in which the people who have the problems you can solve live. What are they doing, what are they earning, what do they enjoy doing, what do they read, watch, eat? If they were to indulge in a fantasy of what they would love to do what would it be? What would be the obstacles in their way?
If you’re able to write a coherent fairy story for your small business, then I’m proud of you. I’m still editing mine.
The value of this process is the rigour with which we’re expected to know and understand what we do and for whom. For even the most seasoned entrepreneur, this requires more than educated guesswork. It means that when you say, ‘my people would be happy to be described as ……’ you can say it with impunity, because you’ve asked.
If you would like to join me in the Inner Circle at the next Key Person of Influence eight hour brand incubator in Melbourne June 1 2012 and Sydney June 30 2012, contact me here.
Awesome post! Clearly I’m a fan!