Most people go to work every day but really don’t know what they’re doing for a living. Actually, you can go to work, be good at what you do and still not know what you’re doing. The logic behind that statement is simple, if you can’t explain to someone what you’re doing in very simple words, chances are you are just performing a set of tasks but don’t really know why you are where you are and what value you add to the company.
When entrepreneurs get started, one of the first things they need to learn is to tell their story. It means being able to explain, in very simple terms, what you do, why you’re doing it, and how you’re making a difference. For entrepreneurs, telling their story is important because that’s how potential customers can understand how their offering can serve their needs, and that’s how their employees can rally around a clear vision and have that story be a guide to day to day decision making and strategy development. Entrepreneurs learn how to do it very quickly because the life of their business depends on it.
Well, telling your story is actually just as important when you’re not an entrepreneur. Whatever the size of the business you are working in and whether you are working in a team or lead a team yourself, being able to tell your story will hold the following benefits:
- First, to determine what your story is, you’ll have to step back from your day to day work and determine what it is you are trying to achieve, how you add value to your company and more importantly how you want to add value
- This in turn will bring you to the second benefit which is to define a clear set of priorities that will allow you to add value where it’s important and make sure your day to day, and the day to day of your team(s) are aligned with those priorities
- When working with internal and external customers, your story will be a driving force, guiding your decisions
- And added benefit, you’ll be seen as a leader as it takes leadership to be at the forefront of your agenda
The only thing left for you to do? Take a few minutes away from your work and write down your story or the story of your team in 2 sentences or less…