It’s all in the approach
When we made the move back to the city from the suburbs almost 18 years ago most people’s first response was “how are the kids taking it”? The kids were thrilled because we were thrilled. It was all in the approach.
We sat the kids down (who were then 8, 6 and 3) and told them we had made a decision to move back to the city. This was not done in a somber tone. We said “we have the best news, we are moving back to the city and it is going to be amazing”. You would have thought we told them that we were leaving for an all day ice cream festival in a matter of moments. They literally cheered. They truly had no idea how it would change their lives.
Rohan, who writes the blog A Learning A Day and reads this blog, wrote a post the other day called Achievement vs Potential. I thought about it for awhile after reading it. It is a conversation I have with many entrepreneurs when they are fundraising. Regardless of what stage they are at, it is all about potential. Each stage is a different deck and information for investors. You want to show what you have achieved as you move forward into a Series A, B or C because you are no longer selling a dream but you are still selling potential. People love potential.
There is something about potential that draws people in. It is intoxicating. It intrigues curious people. It can lead to future success.
As for our kids, years later we went to an event that took us back to the world where many of the families from the suburbs were. Jessica came with us. After we left she called Emily to say the best decision we ever made was to move them back to the city as young kids.
In everything, it is really about the approach.
Comments (Archived):
I think this is one of those that is so difficult to do but so worthy of doing. I think we’d all benefit from spending more time honing how we sell because 1. We’re always selling ourselves, our point of view, our idea2. Most of the time, what we consider to be the “best” isn’t objectively the best. It is just the story we’re sold. We honor “best selling” novels and not “best written” novels.This is a tough switch to make for most of us because we often associate selling with the car salesman. But, that approach things of selling as an activity… when it is a big part of who we are and of being human.(Thank you for the share, Joanne. :))
That’s why selling is truly an art form
Amen. And underrated
This saying makes me queezy because 1) it’s true, and 2) that means that people with a certain approach can get ahead, no matter if there’s any substance underneath or not.I dunno if I approached that right, but that’s what I think. ?