I read The Challenger Sale this week which is one of those books you hear about, think you should read, or have an impression of what it is and never get around to it.
Or, at least, that was me.
But I read the book this week and realized that a lot of what I have done over the years is captured right there in the book.
I push things.
I try to take control of the sale.
I offer up ideas and insight.
It is insight that I want to spend a little bit of time on this morning because I think for many of us this concept is familiar and confusing.
But it is truly insight that drives our value and drives our business.
I’ve been pretty apt to say that “discernment is the killer app.” But actually its really insight.
What I want to discuss in terms of insight this morning is how you can develop it and how you can deploy it to work in your favor.
First, developing insight is something I want you to dedicate a little time to each day.
People email me all the time and ask about all the things I read and how much content I seem to ingest.
Its true.
I read a lot.
Which helps me pull ideas from all over the world into my philosophy of business.
So I feed, feed, feed the mental beast through the lens of ROI and revenue and on the other side come these insights, ideas, and observations.
For you, I’d suggest you start by developing a theory of business.
For me, that theory is that revenue and ROI are a process that are driven by an understanding of outcomes, a focus on processes, and a trust in people.
For you, that theory is likely much different.
You may believe in the power of sports and entertainment to build community.
You might believe in all the ways that technology can improve human performance.
Or lives.
Or whatever.
The key thing is to create some sort of filter through which you see the world and can digest the information you consume.
From there, you can start to develop thoughts, ideas, insights that are unique to you.
Because the key to insight is that you need to have your own, you can’t just jump on board the boat of everyone else’s.
But once you have those insights, what do you do with them?
You have to get them out into the world.
I saw a blog post by Alan Weiss the other day that talked about people asking him why he shared so many of his ideas and so much of his IP. His reply is that typically the people want to see the creator.
That’s an idea I want you to hold in your head.
Your insights are worthless if you aren’t sharing them all the time.
This is the core of marketing: at its heart, marketing is simply the spreading of ideas.
That’s why your insights are so important.
You don’t get more attention, more work, or more ideas if you horde them.
You have to share them.
Start a blog.
Start a newsletter.
Post to Twitter.
Write magazine articles.
Write for blogs or publications.
Share these ideas everywhere.
Because in the new economy, the most important skill you have is insight.
Now get out there learn, think, and share.