Story

EVERYTHING is a story. It’s up to you to LEAD the story for the organization, for your team, and for your prospects.

Story

Thinking Bigger with your Vision, your Board and your Funding

Thinking BIGGER – With your Vision, With your Board and With your Funding. Here’s some tips:

Go back up to 30,000’
Planes fly at 30,000’. It’s an altitude at which you can see ‘the big picture.’ 30,000 is all about VISION. Most of us communicate at the 14,000’(Strategy) and 3’ (Tactics) level. The BIG sale, the BIG vision, the BIG conversations happen at 30,000’.

On Strategic Plans
Really tough to talk about what you’re going to do at 14,000’ if there is no consensus and clarity at 30,000’. Have you answered the question, “What is our reason for existence? To what end?”

We spend every day at 3’
Your prospects don’t. We have a context for every detail [[in OUR heads]] but when we communicate in the details (without first having clarity/framing at the higher levels) it sounds a bit like the school teacher from Charlie Brown.

The Steve Jobs Close
The story: In 1984 the Apple board was looking for a new ‘seasoned and readied CEO.’ They zeroed in on John Scully – VP of Pepsi. The Board spent some time with Scully talking about market segments, HR, product lines, business plan, etc — the 14,000′ and 3′ pieces. He eventually turned them down. Later, Steve Jobs goes for a walk with Scully and asks one (30,000’) question, “Do you want to sell sugar water to kids all your life or do you want to change the world?” Scully takes the job (which incidentally, didn’t work out so well.) Steve Jobs was a pretty good leader after all. But, that’s a different story.

What’s your Steve Jobs Close?

Asking for $1M
You need to actually be able to communicate what we would do with $1M. Simple concept.

Getting Buy-In at 30,000’
If someone’s not buying in at 30,000’ then you can’t move on to the strategy and the tactics of how they can help (the ask). However, once they do, you can move to these levels.

Prospects will communicate at the level of your choosing
If you start with the blue prints for the building, you’ll end up talking about the angle of the door. Or, you can talk about the VISION. Your choice.

Be ready to talk about 14,000’ and 3’
Thinking BIG actually makes things EASIER. Support you BIG vision with 3 projects you are going to accomplish towards that vision in the next 1,000 days. And of course, do the math on your projects.

Some of the FRAMEWORKS referenced here: