Remember when we would ponder our direction? Nowadays we have to do it all (and then some). There are products to learn, people to hire, alliances to form, markets to penetrate….and a whole lot of technology that is supposed to make things less complicated. Some times the path of least resistance beats the information highway. Does anybody remember simplicity?
Business is built on relationships, one’s ability to differentiate, and the lost art of articulation. Let’s not complicate the process.
There are two types of people: loud mouths & introverts! Neither works! We have marveled at the leadership of Mark Zukerberg but are we honest in our assessment. Business operations are built by brilliant programmers…so brilliant they know not how to express themselves. Schools are increasing curriculum to 4 hours of homework in 3rd grade. Bury your head in books and try to keep up. This, dear readers, is an extraordinary waste of time! When 70,000 engineers race to build the future there will be one question looming at the finish line: Who’s Gonna Sell This Stuff?
People are drawn to interesting people…more than fancy apps, intuitive web design, or efficient programs. People need people to tell the story of why the thing matters.
It has been proven that our choices are driven 23% by reason and 77% by emotion. Plan accordingly!
It seems our education system is driven by information dumping. Learn about the product, not what purpose it serves or why that matters. This single-minded path to completion has spilled into the sales world. We are training people on products instead of educating a purpose driven go-to-market mission.
Your goal should be to know your audience and why what you have matters to them. Don’t just talk product specs, talk about your mission and why it will make their world better. This is a genuine belief in what you do and a loyalty to the people you serve.
We have lost our ability to tell stories. We focus far too much on the what (or how) and not the why. We know how to babble across 120 slides about how great we are…..but we need to understand our purpose and why it matters to our audience.
Anyone can read a manual and talk about features. Very few can step away from the manual and articulate why it matters to the person sitting in front of them (who they may have never met). This is the art of articulation.
Are you memorizing product specs to get to the finish line or are you learning and educating the mission?
Please remember that you are bound by nothing. Create a new world….every day!
Dave Kovacovich