Message from Dan
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Message from Dan
Value creation in the age of the new normal.
Lately, many people have been asking me what advice I have for entrepreneurs in today’s turbulent environment. It’s my belief that the “interesting” times we find ourselves in are not an anomaly, but rather a part of a natural evolution. The framework of “creative destruction,” which Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter identified as the natural evolutionary dynamic of capitalism in which old forms are destroyed to make way for the new, offers a broader perspective. We’re in an era where capitalism is no longer limited by national borders. The ordinary Creative Destruction® that used to happen within countries is now happening on a global scale. The media is focusing on the destruction because it’s good for ratings and readership, and because many media people, being bureaucratic employees, don’t understand capitalism. What they’re not reporting is that millions of entrepreneurs are creating new tools, systems, and concepts in response to the opportunities that are being created in this shift.
I want to encourage you to not be taken in by all the attention being given to the destructive part of this transformation and instead to focus on the creative. Great new things are happening that will emerge as we get past most of the destruction. Because of who you are and the relationships you’ve cultivated, you have big opportunities to create value for your clients and customers during times when they’re feeling especially powerless, isolated, and confused. You might not be able to sell the same thing you sold six months ago, but you can be useful in entirely new ways.
The D.O.S. Conversation®, which we teach in the Strategic Coach® Program, is the perfect tool to use to open doors to new opportunities. Its greatest strength is that it puts you in touch with your clients. This is a great opportunity for you now because the D.O.S.® issues of your clientele will have changed in significant ways recently. By having these conversations in the coming months, you can position yourself in a uniquely positive way with your key clients and customers who are feeling confused and shaky because of an uncertain economy.
For those of you not familiar with the conversation, it’s entirely made up of questions. The first question you ask allows the person to identify what needs to happen over the next three years in order for them to be happy with their progress. This is followed by three more questions that flesh out the dangers they would like to eliminate, the opportunities they’d like to capture, and the strengths they have that can be leveraged.
By having this kind of conversation, which is entirely focused on them, you can help your clients or prospects get clear about how their lives have changed, and also about important things that have stayed the same. You can help them to find opportunities they haven’t seen and also see where you might be able to offer them creative solutions. This is a time when people are much more likely to be open to someone with a positive creative approach than to just another person selling a thing. Even the new sense of perspective you leave them with will be incredibly valuable and will differentiate you from all the other people who are focused on pushing products. I keep reminding all Strategic Coach® entrepreneurs that even though you may not be able to sell something right now, it doesn’t mean you can’t be useful. And as soon as you are seen as extraordinarily useful—through The D.O.S. Conversation—the sales will start flowing again.
Stay creative, keep listening to your clients, and seek out new ways to be useful, and you’ll be in good shape to make the most of this uncertainty and create new forms of value that will propel your business forward. And always remember, the market rewards creators.
TM & © 2009-. The Strategic Coach Inc. All rights reserved.