Princesses, unicorns, and fairies

My 3-year old daughter Ami asked me to tell me a story. In a moment of rare generosity, she told me the story could be about my favourite things.

She then asked me if I liked princesses. (I did.) Unicorns? (Ditto.) And fairies?

Turns out my favourite things are princesses, unicorns, and fairies. Who knew? And I got to tell a story about all three.

Pretty normal for a 3-year old to assume that what's important to her is what's important to everyone. That's appropriate for her developmental stage.

For you and I ... not so much. And yet I think we fall into this trap in how we sell and deliver our expertise. We assume that what is important to us is important to those we seek to serve. That it’s the same things keeping us awake at night, the same motivations driving us.

Much more effective is being genuinely curious. What makes this person tick? What's actually happening in their world? How does the world occur to them? First listen ... really listen.

Then we can serve.