The past weeks have made me realise something so logical, but still so far away for most of us. It’s the reason why many of my ideas fail, and why i am often struggling with finding connection to the world around me for idea’s that emerge.
We’ve been getting used to trying to get thousands of ambassadors for projects, when most impact is often made by 1 or 2 people within that group of a thousand. Education has taught me you’ll need to reach thousands to market your idea. Crowd sourcing showcases often involve groups of hundreds to thousands co-creators or ambassadors, size and impact are directly linked together. But i’ve always interpreted this link in the wrong order. Big groups might have impact, but impact more often reaches big groups. And impact is most often made by a single or a small group of leaders, innovators and just gutsy people.
Instead of focussing on reaching 100.000 people with a newsletter to grow your idea, event, company or find that new customer, it might be far more valuable to focus on that one person that may get you there. An email won’t do, take time to build a relationship, drink lots of coffee, build trust and the start building your shared dream together. Be open to adapt to that persons vision and experience around the idea, to improve your dream. And then be open to a third person, a fourth, etc.etc.
I’ve skipped this step far too often, trying to send someone with whom i have a strong relation an email to get them excited about my idea. Without giving them the opportunity to really connect to it, to adapt to it, to give back input, and to become a fellow-owner of the idea.
When i think about the most impactful events in my life, it’s always been together with one or a small group of people, who did just that. And i hope that i can be that person for others around me, and to take the time to connect, adapt, co-dream, co-create and co-impact!
