I am in no doubt that success in business has a lot to do with standing out from the crowd in our niche/s. Niche/s are key. As my friend and colleague Gihan Perera says Niche guys finish first!
Who are you serving? Who is your tribe? Who is your niche?
My niche is open-hearted and open-minded business owners and leaders who
*Truly believe that when you look after your people they will look after your organisation.
*Know intuitively that helping people achieve their personal goals leads to people better helping your organisation achieve its goals.
*Value authenticity and candor.
*Admit that at least in some areas you are stuck in the status quo (normal) and want to change what’s normal.
*Recognise that people outside your organisation do inspiring and innovative work that can greatly enhance what you are doing.
Answering the question Who is your niche/s? is the hardest part of standing out (assuming you have products/services people in your niche/s want). And perhaps you have a belief hurdle to overcome first - a belief that you are not worthy or that it is a “sin” to standout. Overcoming our belief hurdles can be hard too. The rest of the standing out equation is simple!
All change is personal first. You are not your beliefs. You are the one-of-a-kind human being who has decided to believe what you believe. You can decide to change what you believe any time you choose. This is often not easy yet it is simple.
You may find the following helpful about beliefs.
I change what I believe in regularly as new evidence and personal experience dictates (I once believed in politicians for example). I have not changed my philosophy of life for me though, the why of what I do. My philosophy of life is We get what we gift. Implicit in my philosophy is giving without attachment to getting back.
What is your philosophy of life, your why of what you do?
Answering this question is a key to finding your niche/s because people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
In a very insightful statement Oscar Wilde once remarked
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Are you taking this seriously. Out of 100 billion people who have lived on planet earth there is only one you. To not be all you are capable of being is the only “sin” which actually means to fall short of the mark.
Strategic positioning (standing out) in your organisation
Strategic positioning is simple. It’s
Doing what others don’t do or doing what others do just better, differently, or more uniquely, and segmentation (niches).
Achieving strategic positioning is also simple and has everything to do with feeling valued, delivering value, and living values.
Feeling valued
Do you truly value yourself? If not please reread above!
If I was to ask your employees do they feel valued at work would the majority say yes?
If you feel uncertain or know that the majority of your employees would answer no, then we need to talk immediately if not sooner.
When people feel valued they perform accordingly.
Delivering value
Are you delivering the value to all your stakeholders that they demand, desire, and feel that they deserve?
If you feel uncertain or know that the majority of your stakeholders would answer no, then again we need to talk immediately if not sooner.
Living values
What your values are is important however how you live them is what really matters. Are the values on your wall lived in the hall?
My story below may help you to be certain of your answer.
I finished reading a great book about standing out last weekend. It inspired this article. It’s called Becoming a category of one - How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison by Joe Calloway. I bought this book via Amazon Kindle for $9.99. In the book Joe provides a great case study of the Tractor Supply company. Joe says “At Tractor Supply their values are the rules of the road for how they do everything, every day, all day long.” There you have it in a nutshell. Anything less is hurting you.
Employee performance is the great barometer of standing out. The performance of your employees means you’re either standing out or slipping away. There is no standing still in the 21st century.
Standing out is simple and the most significant path to success in your organisation. It’s about doing what others don’t do or doing what others do just better, differently, or more uniquely, and segmentation (niches). The keys are people feeling valued, delivering value, and living your values.
Please standout. The world needs you to and so too do you.
Best wishes
Ian
My Enhancing Their Gifts System will help you to stand out. Find out more here.
PS To standout maybe you even have to be ridiculous. Seth Godin says Ridiculous is the new remarkable. His article here worth a read.
No comments:
Post a Comment