Written by: Vickie Sullivan | November 07, 2019
How to Stand Out In A Sea of Good Ideas
Wow! The podcast I did with Karyn Zuidinga, host of Positive Turbulence, is what happens when I get on a roll and forget I’m being recorded. Dang.
I shared a strategy that is very effective for my clients that I don’t usually talk about. And that’s how to position an approach that will stand out in a sea of other great ideas. The problem: The firehose of brilliance spewing out there makes every model, every methodology sound like “flavor of the month.” They all start blending together. My favorite way to differentiate in that crazy-crowded environment: the Trojan horse strategy.
Here’s how it works: Say your have a new way to do XXX. Instead of leading with “Ta da! Here’s my next big thing that will require a lot of work from you,” seduce folks to come along for the ride.
Two paths to building a great Trojan horse:
• Talk about the journey. Yep, there’s a reason why Jim Collins’ book Good to Great is still so popular. Collins got the market’s attention by talking about what companies go through, then he sprang his big approach (complete with all 10 elements!) on them. He avoided the whole “another model by some academic” trap by wrapping around his flywheel effect with what it really takes to go “from good to great.”
Listen: Vickie and Karyn Solve the World’s Problems
• Focus on the inside edge. Most high-achieving people know the game is won by narrow margins, not by a landslide. So any “secret” that can give an inside edge will be noticed. Malcom Gladwell played on that with in his best-selling book The Tipping Point by focusing on how ideas “catch fire.” Think about it: Who doesn’t want that? This “the secret to” focus creates enough curiosity for folks to check out the process.
With a bombardment of good ideas out there, folks are getting jaded and fear getting sucked into “flavor of the month.” If we focus their attention first, then our ideas can get past this initial resistance.
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