Yesterday, I wrote about business metaphors and put a challenging question to you: What metaphor do you use to understand your coaching business? Today, we're continuing this conversation by talking about what you need your metaphor to do for you.
Designing the language through which you comprehend your business can open up new paths to success. Your language opens up and closes down possibilities. Naturally, you want your language to work for you instead of against you. But how can you tell if the metaphor you chose will work for you or not?
Here's what you need your metaphor to do for you:
- Evoke the right mood
- Evoke the right values
- Highlight the right goal
- Highlight the right path, the right strategy
- Highlight the right relationships
Let's unpack these.
First, your metaphor must evoke the right mood for your business. Moods are very powerful. Just recall the last time you were resigned. You can't build a business when your resigned, can you? There are tons of moods that don't work for building coaching businesses. Here are a few more: being bitter, skeptical, frustrated, guilty, resentful, and cynical. None of these moods work. They don't put you in a good space for investing in your future. Instead, you want your metaphor to evoke moods such as acceptance, trust, ambition, optimism, openness, hope, and fun. These moods predispose you to understand the world and respond to it in a much different way - a way where future-building is more possible and more successful.
Second, your metaphor brings with it an implied set of values that must fit your business. For instance, 'business is a game' brings with it the value of being a winner and making others losers. Does someone have to lose in order for you to win in building your coaching business? I don't think so. So the values evoked by this metaphor don't work (unless you change the game to an infinite game). If you value partnership or collaboration in your business then your metaphor should evoke that.
Third, your metaphor has to point you in the right direction toward a worthy goal. For example, the metaphor 'business is a dance' highlights the goals of being in step with the music and leading and following your dance partners. This metaphor has a lot to offer an entrepreneurial coach. On the other hand, the metaphor 'business is war' brings up goals like victory through killing the competition. That doesn't really work for coaches.
Fourth, your metaphor has to point out the breakdowns that must be resolved in order to survive and what actions must be taken in order to thrive. This highlights the path or the strategy to be taken. For me, the dance metaphor highlights a helpful path. In order to dance to the music with others, you have to listen and move in a coordinated way with others. This is exactly what's needed to serve a target market with a creative offer. It all starts from listening, then follows with some creative moves, then more listening, and more moving. Round and round until something emerges that's fun, enlivening, exciting for everyone.
And last, your metaphor has to help you form the kind of relationship you need to have with others. Are you pushing or pulling your clients? Or neither? Are you partnering or collaborating with anyone? Are you solo? Again, I like the dance metaphor for coaches because in dancing the roles of leader and follower have a complex and intertwining relationship. To be a good dancer, you need to be good at both leading and following. It's the same for being an entrepreneurial coach. Don't forget to include all relationships in your metaphor: relationships with your clients, business partners, and community of support if you can.
Take a look at your metaphor against these five criteria. Does your metaphor work for you or against you?
Switching metaphors can spawn new and creative solutions, reveal new approaches to long-standing challenges, or uncover new paths and resources that weren't seen before.
A successful entrepreneur knows the power of language and leverages it.
Take care,
-Steve
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