Jim’s “Business Transition
Defogger blogs” give me pause at least once a week.
Enid’s business card proclaims “Copywriter, rock star,
human” in the title slot and then at the bottom in italics says, “Okay, so I’m
not a rock star, but I once had a Janis Joplin lunchbox.” The sheer moxie of it
blows me away each time I read it!
Tom Peterson’s, “and free is
a very good price!” was quintessentially Tom.
Each stands out from the
crowd. Each is successful. Each, in their own way, is a leader and somehow
different from the masses.
Shell calls it, “Charisma.” That
is unless she thinks it is too brazen. Then she says, “It’s chutzpah.”
In business it comes from
congruity…taking a position and sticking to it.
It is that one thing that
separates you from the pack.
I call it, “Singularity.”
Each of us has some, but
like athletic skill and intelligence and all the other complex characteristics
of being human it’s not evenly distributed. Yet each of us, undeniably, has a
quality, strength or viewpoint that endows us with a oneness. It is what makes
a person unique, a company identifiable and gives products or services an
impetus to succeed.
Can you find your
singularity, build on it and add to your success?
You bet! There are three
easy steps:
1. Become an expert. Devote at least one hour each day for a year to the subject or area of
your choice. Read about it. Do it. Experiment in it. Take a course in it.
Immerse yourself and follow the side paths that open to you. Mastery of nearly
any subject can be yours…if you’ll do the work.
Also set aside at least 30
minutes each day to consider completely disconnected subjects. How? Pick up a
magazine at the bookstore…one you’ve never read before. Stop into a museum or
library or other public information venue and browse. Surf the net on a subject
chosen by opening the dictionary and selecting a word at random.
Integrate what you’ve seen
and heard into your area of expertise. You’ll find that you’ll now be able to
talk more comfortably with a larger array of people about the subjects that are
of interest to them while more easily connecting your expertise to theirs.
You’ll listen a little more carefully as your connections broaden. That will
add to your allure.
Charisma can be built
through confidence in your self, your expertise, true interest in others and a
desire to really communicate.
2. Risk being different. Some of us already are. Most of us
are shorter, taller, faster, slower, thinner, fatter, balder or hairier or some
other “er”. Rejoice if you have one of those obvious “ers” and can use it to
your benefit. People remember people with any of them.
Some of us aren’t that
lucky. We have to find a way to become memorable. For one salesman I’ve been
told it was literally changing his hat…to a homburg which wasn’t in style at
the time. Me, well I grew a Vandyke
beard and moustache over thirty years ago and have worn it ever since.
Changes in dress and
appearance are only part of the equation though. People need more than a visual
reference. We judge and are judged on looks, words and deeds.
Your words, as an expert,
must make it easy for people to understand and connect your expertise to their
experience. Don’t fall into the jargon trap. If someone can’t understand what
it is that you or your company do, the fault is yours, not theirs.
You will be remembered for
showing understanding but referred on the basis of what you do. Actions still
speak louder than words. The guys in Schwab tire stores run to get to your car.
Nordstrom clerks send thank you cards.
I still answer the phone, “How
can I help you?…and mean it”
As my former client Bryan would say in his British accent, “Be a
little cheeky.”
People remember audacity. They forget timidity. Build a little
chutzpah into your approach to life.
3. Stick to it. It takes time for people to see the “new you.” It
takes time to convince people that you and your company are really experts.Develop charisma, add a
little chutzpah and stick to it. That’s the way to singularity.
It takes time. But it is
definitely worth it.