Daniel Priestly shared an analogy recently that running a business is a bit like having a box of Legos without the instructions.
You can see what the final product should look like on the box, but getting there is an entirely different story.
As a business advisor, he sees his role as being the metaphorical instructions. And I couldn’t think of a better analogy for independent marketing strategists.
There’s a good chance your clients have a box of Lego without instructions, trying to assemble the pieces using just the picture on the front for reference.
Strategists are the instructions.
We don’t build it for you (what would be the fun in that?), but we are there to break down each individual step, making it easy for you to get the intended result.
Providing guidance on how to build the Lego set for people who have no instructions is precisely the type of value we create.
But that’s not all we do.
We also provide the tools to go with it, ensuring clients can be successful right away. And unlike the instructions, you can ask us questions when you inevitably get stuck. We don’t leave you hanging.
The better we detail the steps and ingredients of our methodology, the more leveraged our guidance can be because your clients will have fewer questions.
Instruction manuals have to be extremely clear and thorough because nobody is there to answer questions if people get stuck.
That’s where your documented IP Assets come into play.
It’s one thing to have a process in your head, it’s another to document it so that anyone can build the Legos without you.
My goal is to document everything I know so that I can live at the strategic level and not get too bogged down in what can be easily taught via documented instructions or chat GPT.
I do that by:
- Teaching Frameworks and Mental Models to make it easier for clients to think on their own.
- Organizing my ideas into a Methodology Playbook that contains my best ideas.
- Writing down the steps (Standard Operating Procedures) for each item that requires instructions.
- Creating my Proprietary Templates to make running processes easier and faster for everyone.
- Having an Inspiration Swipe File with examples to make it easier to overcome the blank page.
- Providing a Vetted Rolodex of specialist suppliers whom I can refer when needed.
- Operating with a Customized KPI Sheet to let my clients measure the performance of our work.
None of this is me doing the tactical execution but it makes that part easy and more efficient because the hard part (the thinking/ingredient provisions) is done for my clients.
I’ve said it before in a tongue-in-cheek way, but execution is a commodity when you have the right instructions. Almost anyone can build a Lego set with the right instructions.
The key is being the instruction manual and well-equipped guide for when things aren’t clear.
But then also making your instructions clearer until eventually, people barely need you to get the result they want.
—kevin
P.S. This is the stuff I teach in the membership, with my own suite of templates, examples, a rolodex, and more. You can grab a spot whenever you’re ready here.