(Update: I have written a follow-up to this post here)
Does the world really need another service provider, who is just a little less expensive, just a little faster or who offers just a little better customer service?
No: The marketplace is not excited or motivated by yet another pretty average provider.
What causes people to stand in line waiting to become your client or to tell the world how awesome you are, is when they encounter a business or person, doing something that is clearly, extra special.
This is what I call doing work that matters.
Work that matters
So, what am I referring to when I say work that matters?
I first picked up on the term, in an interview I heard a couple of years ago. Seth Godin was being interviewed by Israel V, who asked him what his secret to success was. Seth answered:
For 5 years, I was one payment away from bankruptcy. I then decided to stop doing work that paid and focus on doing work that mattered. I fired our biggest client, who was responsible for more than half our revenue! They were making us unhappy and were changing who we were and how we did business.
It was a real watershed for me; having the guts to do that. I told my team that this might be the end for us, but I think it is the right thing to do. We stopped working on projects, which could make us money in a week and focused all our attention on doing work that mattered, things we would have worked on for free, if we could have afforded to.
That shift meant a lot!
Work that pays
Almost every business focuses on working in a predictable way. They stick within the confines of what their competitors do, because they believe that there is almost a guarantee that if they do, they will at least get a slice of the pie, even if it’s a small slice. This is why so many businesses offer such a similar range of services to their competitors and end up attracting average clients, who pay them average fees.
Steve Jobs and work that matters
Only a tiny minority of people do work that matters. They look at what the marketplace needs and they decide to provide it based on their unique approach. Steve Jobs is a famous example of doing work that matters. At a time when computer makers were constantly asking themselves, “how can we make this cheaper?” Jobs was asking “how can we make this so awesome that people will go crazy with excitement when they see it?” The rest is history.
Here’s the challenge with ripping up the predictable model of a business in your industry, to focus exclusively on doing work that matters to you.
You won’t find the model for you and your business in any book!
There’s no for dummies guide. There’s no turnkey solution. There’s no manual either! That’s because it has to be work that matters to YOU and your prospective clients.
It’s based around the way YOU see things:
- Your values
- Your beliefs
- Your insights
- Your experiences
- Your passion
- Your resources
- Your imagination
- Your goals
- Your personality
- Your dreams
- Your faith
- Your end game
Clearly, this approach is not for everyone. But for those who can see the potential and who have the vision and the courage to make it work, the rewards are life changing.
It’s why I enjoy coaching people how to do work that matters, based on their uniqueness, more than any other work I do. For my clients and myself, THIS is work that matters!
UPDATE: Here’s a follow-up post, which takes this subject further and answers a key question, on how to start this process in your business!
Jim Connolly can help you grow your business and achieve the breakthrough marketing results your hard work deserves. To find out more, simply click here!
Photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography and Seth Godin
Hey Jim,
This is the first time I have ever thought about my business like that. The top provider in every sector I can think of, uses that way of thinking. They are different to the rest.
Everyone I know whose business is tanking right now is focused on being just like all the others.
You’re right.
It takes vision and courage to be different, Jill, which is why we see so few people willing to embrace it.
Ironically, the businesses that cling onto being average, because they are scared of failing, often work hard for years and get nowhere.
Thanks for the feedback.
One thing that should be added to the secret of their success is the fact that both men have ‘guts’ – the sense that they were doing right and the guts to actually do it.
Sometimes I wish I had the same. I’ve got some, but maybe not THAT much!
Hi Jason – You may have missed it, but the post says; But for those who can see the potential and who have the vision and the courage to make it work, the rewards are life changing..
Thanks for the feedback.
I have been bouncing this idea around in my mind for years. It is a very scary concept, but those who are willing to do it often are the ones who climb high above the rest. Food for though. Thanks for sharing.
You’re very welcome, Dr. Smith.
In my experience, helping people achieve this on a day to day basis (as a marketing and business development mentor), it’s worth the effort. The results are quite literally life changing.
One of Jims best posts ever.
Reading this was like having the fog lifted from before my eyes.
Ive never thought about my business like that before. Amazing insights here. Even by Jims standards.
Thanks for the kind words, Sam.
Wow! Now THAT’S a wake-up call if ever I heard one.
It definitely is a scary path for most people to take – the road less travelled and all that, and even if you know you ‘should’ be taking this kind of action we all know that not everyone will.
Fab post Jim. Best all year? Yeah. I reckon so.
Thanks Peter.
Jim
I think in the years to come there will only be one type of work: work that makes a difference. Fear limits all of us. It limits us physically, emotionally and spiritually. Neitzsche coined the expression “That which does not kill us makes us stronger” but very few people are prepared to hang out on the edge (or even close to the edge) and just resort to following the herd. Last year, I set out on a journey to build a small business, having previously practised as a lawyer for 14 years (if you include the training period it was closer to 20), and I did so because I wanted to make a difference. It sounds pompous I know, but for me it is about working with people inside a business to inspire them to become the most that they can be and that means challenging them to think differently about the quality of their work, and their business.
I am a huge fan of Michael Gerber and in his latest book The Most Successful Small Business in the World he posits those aspects of every business that need urgent attention but most of all he asks questions of us. In essence, what is our higher purpose. I think that is inextricably linked with doing work that matters.
Thanks for raising the issue with your thoughtful post, and for me I am inspired to try every day to do better than I did yesterday and leave a legacy where I am defined by my work and not just the title ‘solicitor’.
Regards
Julian
Hi Julian. Whilst I find Gerber’s work generic, your point is a sound one. It is indeed all about making that contribution; something that means more than “just” the financial rewards we receive.
Thanks for the feedback, sir.
Not much I can add to this Jim, doing work that matters to US based on who we are.
No shortcuts, no 4hour work week, no get rich quick solutions, real work starts with ourselves.
Best post of the year…so far
Thanks sir
[...] Those who lead the tribes, are copied and respected by the gurus and who express our true opinions, use the fear as confirmation to proceed and do work that matters. [...]
Believe it or not, I discovered Seth Godin through this post, Jim. Do work that matters. Great idea. When he says, “I told my team that this might me the end for us, but I think it is the right thing to do.” is the “me” a Freudian sloop or just a typo?
Thanks Astro (or Mr Gremlin, assuming Astro is a man’s name). It as a typo.
[...] most popular posts ever on this blog. It was about the difference between doing normal work, and doing work that matters. I recommend you read it, before continuing with this [...]
HI Jim–There is a book called Talent is Overrated: http://www.amazon.com/Talent-Overrated-Separates-World-Class-Performers/dp/1591842247
It touches on a very important tenant of what you are talking about here (sort of). But the idea makes the point of doing work that matter will take you much further than just going through motions or doing what everybody else does. A big point in the book is that what gets people ahead in sports is not just practice, but quality practice. In golf, just swinging the club 3 times a week for 10 years will not make you Tiger Woods. But practice with reflection, coaching, re-evaluating, questioning and developing your own style will make you into a Tiger Woods (or at least understand of why Tiger is Tiger..lol).
Thanks
Yes, agreed great post!
It was valuable as it is helping me brainstorm who to do it so awesome that everyone will want it! I have a feeling some of the technology has not caught up with what I could be doing. Just learned about a mobile app i-stethoscope that would allow you to listen to someone’s heart virtually!
How awesome would that be to have your medical needs met as soon as they arise by your trusted physician.
[...] I used it as a way to build the blueprint of what is now my business! I immediately set about doing work that mattered, rather than work that would pay me in a week or a month. It changed how I worked forever and has [...]
I recently stopped and stood still.
I knew in my heart that I was ‘me too’ even though I was going to be doing it in a very individual way.
I know what it is that I want to do that matters, so I am taking care of some personal things first.
Then I intend to matter and make it count.
Thanks for this post.
Billy
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