The Flip. p2. Narrative
It’s the thread of what you do and what overarching story it tells. It’s a sustained arc about how you show up, what you do from a high altitude view and how you frame the world: on opportunities or threats. John Hagel has studied the power of narratives and how they’re different from stories. Stories are: about the individual: you, me, someone imaginary self-contained: have a beginning, middle, end focusing on one point (hence, the moral of the story) Narratives are: about the audience: they…
A question for you.
Quick question: When someone tells you or you hear “Mind the gap”, what do you understand and what’s your action to take? 🙂
The Flip. Ep.1. Purpose
Forget about mission and vision statements —they’re useless in this context. This is not a marketing / branding exercise and definitely NOT aspirational (there’s a HUGE difference between aspirational and inspirational, but that’s for another email). It’s who you are and what you stand for. I’m taking you’re in the business of helping people get what they want. If not, that’s ok too. But maybe this is not the kind of email you want to read. Purpose Actionable, yet fuzzy. It’s the thing that…
Markets and fits
What’s a market? Friend of the list, Jonathan Stark, sent this email where he described what a market is: “Market—a place, virtual or otherwise, where buyers and sellers gather to facilitate the exchange of goods and services.” There are a few things to add that also make a market work: They don’t have defined nor definitive rules —yet, they can be regulated. Players can come and go as long as they have 2 things: will AND resources. Markets can expand, contract or cease to exist. There are no…
The Flip. How to claim a gap.
How to claim a gap. Once you’ve seen the gaps in your market, how can you claim it? Here’s an approach. These factors lever and build on one another to help you show your value, feel seen as a consistent / expert brand and have better sales conversations. They help you be the obvious choice —for the right people. Purpose Narrative Alignment Focus Flip Clarity Impact Going in-depth from tomorrow.
Self-Focused v Others-Focused
What’s your focus gap? Where are you focusing your efforts on your comms and messaging? Here’s a self-audit to start seeing where’s your focus. Something VERY important: It’s a spectrum —it’s totally ok to be somewhere in between. The idea is for you to identify where you are. Think of it as a dial. Wherever you are, you can regulate and adapt your messaging to a new state. 🙂 LanguageDo you use your language or your client’s? SELF •————————————————• OTHERS…
Focus Gaps
You started working on your personal inventory and are asking yourself “Now what?” You move onto what’s your current Focus Gap. Your very own self-audit to start seeing things under a different light. Are you focused on yourself or on others? You can review your comms and messaging under these 2 lenses (on your website, brochures or any kind of media you use). Self-Focused It’s all about you. Our work, what we do, what we see, how we work, how we help, our vision, about us, our projects, our…
Snorkeling or diving?
You’re in the Caribbean and have two options: snorkeling or diving. Which one would you choose? You snorkel Don’t need quite a lot of equipment: usually just your snorkel and fins. You stay on the surface, need lots of sun protection (your back will be under the sun for a loooong time), it’s fun, can’t really explore for longer what you see below (a starfish, an angel fish, coral…) It’s somehow easier to have a sense of orientation: stick your face off the water and look for landmarks. You…
How to make your inventory
To find gaps, you can use a personal inventory. And that sounds simple… yet, many times it’s overwhelming not to know how to start. Here’s a way to do your personal inventory to figure out what you’re really good at. Client / Employer Industry Project Description → Quickly describe what you were hired to do. Inputs → Time, money, resources Outputs → Deliverables (roadmaps, strategies, papers, docs, software…) Outcomes → What they achieved after the work was done Impact → How impactful was…
How to find a gap
First, know what you’re really good at, ego aside. How? Do your personal inventory. A collection of the work you’ve done for clients and in your work life. Good and bad —the worst ones too, actually. Having that will give you a better glimpse of the big picture. This is how you start seeing the hidden patterns in what you do and how you do it. How you actually helped. What your contributions and impact are. In the big picture, they’re evergreen. It unveils the deep you, your core and what…