I have spent most of my career as an entrepreneur., After selling my third start up, Digital Lizard, in 2010, I began consulting to help entrepreneurs grow their own business. I quickly realized that I had accumulated many systems of organizational development and leadership over the years to guide me in my role as a CEO. However, I did not have a framework for teaching it to others.
I knew if I was going to be most effective in helping others expand their businesses and guide my own future ventures, then I needed to mine out the general framework on which I had organically built my companies over the years. If I could do that, then I could create an effective, replicable guide for others and myself. I found myself feeling like I helped people best when they asked questions and I gave them answers as to how I would address an issue, solve a problem or create a strategy. My book, 99 Powerful Questions began taking shape.
The key to understanding my approach to all areas of work and life is the “Sweet Spot” concept. The idea of the “Sweet Spot” prompts us to ask ourselves important questions that help us drill down to the foundational issues that keep us from living up to our fullest potential.
It is my belief that one can only find true and lasting success from one’s “Sweet Spot.” I define the “Sweet Spot” in more detail in my book, but for now let’s just call it the intersection where you find your optimal levels of passion and skills.
The concept is actually quite simple. When you discover your Sweet Spot in life, you build your business and life around it. Your Sweet Spot indicates where you are most energized and most effective in your daily activities. Think about it this way, what would your business look like if every person in your business occupied the position that best fit their skills AND was most fulfilling? That is how I have sought to build my companies and my life. After all, we do our best work when we operate from a place of energy (passion) and excellence (skill).
When individuals find their Sweet Spot they achieve their highest potential and become fulfilled, joyful and motivated people. They become remarkable. When businesses find their Sweet Spot, they increase revenues, multiply opportunities, and develop a robust organizational culture filled with happy, focused, and successful employees. Several remarkable people all working together make remarkable companies.
I believe finding and owning your Sweet Spot is how you were created to live on this planet. It is how the world is waiting for you to show up. Howard Thurman said it best, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” When you and your business find and live from your Sweet Spot, growth and success arrive as very welcomed by-products. So, how do we discover and live in our Sweet Spots? It’s simple if we adopt the right mindset. Just like trying to find a physical destination, we use a map. In my model we also use a M.A.P.
M.A.P. stands for Mindset, Awareness, and Path. Together they make up the three business-building and life-building steps to living with more passion, more success, and more fulfillment in all areas of your life. Sounds exciting? Seems difficult? Let me explain and set the stage for our journey together.
M.A.P. is a simple system that facilitates a strategic approach to building the life and business you want. By the way, my book on M.A.P is scheduled to be released in January 2019. Stay tuned!
Some of you may have just mentally checked out when you read the word “system.” Systems can scare certain personalities who recoil at the thought of forced structure. I’m one of them. The idea of being put into a rigid system makes me cringe. It makes me feel trapped. But don’t let the word system scare you.
Systems do not need to be rigid or inflexible. The systems you create to lead your business must be unique to you, your company, your industry, your team, your assets, and ultimately, your situation. That is why my M.A.P. system helps you create your own tailored process, while also ensuring that your approach to building the foundations of your business is both strategic and comprehensive. Consequently, my 99 Powerful Questions book focuses on the most important elements of building any business. In each chapter, I provide the foundational questions that cut to the heart of each topic and surface the most important issues you will need to address. I then walk you through how to use the questions to make the most effective decisions for you and your business.
The most important part of our journey together through 99 questions is taking the time to understand why and how each question relates to the process of business and personal growth. You’ll want to go back and apply the questions to both your business and personal life. It is my hope that, when thoughtfully applied to every area of your life, these questions will help you come away with a much deeper understanding and better answers to the things that are keeping you from building the best life and business you can imagine for yourself.
