“The world of work keeps changing,” people may say, “so how can we help people to shape their futures? It is hard to know what skills they must learn to be successful.”
Perhaps, but as the saying goes: ‘the more things change, the more things stay the same.’ Creative people throughout history have followed certain themes to get paid for their work.
They have built on their strengths, found sponsors who paid them and delivered success. People who develop such eternal skills are more likely to shape their futures.
Let’s explore how this works in practice.
1) You can build on your strengths.
Michelangelo, Anita Roddick and Steve Jobs had at least one thing in common. They all built on their strengths. They did what they did best and got somebody to pay them for doing it.
This is a key skill for getting funding. Some customers will always be interested in buying quality. And the best way of producing quality is to develop your top talents.
Try tackling the following exercise on this theme. This invites you to explore how you can build on your strengths. Here are the instructions.
2) You can find sponsors.
Anybody can do work they love, the art is to get somebody to pay you for doing it. Creative artists have faced this challenge throughout history. They have asked themselves:
“Shall I be true to my art, stay in a garret and wait to be discovered? Shall I publicise my services, sell my soul and do whatever is necessary for money? Shall I be true to myself, find patrons and try to get a ‘win-win’ solution?”
So how do you find sponsors who will pay you for doing what you do best? There are several rules. It is useful:
* To clarify your ‘perfect customers’ – the kinds of people with whom you work best.
* To clarify the challenges they face and their picture of success.
* To clarify how you can use your strengths to help them to achieve success.
You can then reach out to such people in a way that fits your values. Different people do this in different ways.
For example, I tend to find ways to meet with people for coffee, clarify the challenges they face and offer ideas and tools they can use. It is only after three or more meetings that people may say: “How can we take this further?”
Clarifying the results they want to achieve, we then make clear working contracts. I then try to deliver some quick successes. You will, however, have your own way of reaching customers.
Try tackling the following exercise on this theme. This invites you to explore how you can find sponsors. Here are the instructions.
3) You can deliver success.
Imagine you have made clear working contracts with the sponsors. It may be useful then:
* To deliver some quick successes – this will reassure the sponsors.
* To perform superb work and provide great service.
* To keep following the agreed Dos and Don’ts for working well with them.
* To find creative solutions to challenges.
* To do whatever is necessary to deliver the agreed picture of success.
You will, of course, have your own way of delivering the goods. Try tackling the following exercise on this theme. Here are the instructions.
“Change is the only certainty in the world of work,” we are told. Perhaps, but there is another certainty. People will need to build on their strengths, find sponsors and deliver success. Developing these eternal skills will enable them to shape a positive future.
Posted on Sunday, September 4th, 2011 at 4:47 pm in Strengths, The Strengths Blog | RSS feed
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