Sunrise, Exercise, Intrigue = 1

Yesterday was the first meeting with another. He's not the first to participate in this test but I'll call him 1. The word of the day was Contradiction. I saw it all over the place.

--> Left one job because solving problems created by mismanagement burnt him out. And yet what he loves about owning his business is the challenge to help businesses solve problems.
--> Service or product or both?
--> Hates businesses with layers of bureaucracies and inefficiencies that impede innovation and yet their biggest client is the Goliath of dysfunction.
--> Is an "Influencer" who has lost his voice.
--> An organized individual, a natural problem solver with good game plans who isn't having the "success" he wants at the office and home.

We revisited the birth of the passion that grew from taking a sabbatical:
1) Sunrise
2) Exercise
3) Create a website
--> Intrigued by the opportunity to connect right brain and left brain thinking.

Does this sound like a game plan or what? Sign me up for some of this! I bet it couldn't be farther from the game plans he has now. Do you think his "summits" have this expectation and setting? I digress...

The lightbulb moment came when 1 discovered dynamic coding. "Why" I asked, "What specifically changed when you discovered it?" His response was delivered at a different pace than our conversation had been up until that point. He sat up in your chair, you leaned in / on the table and spoke from the place he needs to more.

Dynamic Solutions - not hard code (sounds a bit like the start of a melody line to me).

He started with a PIM interface - give the business owner the ability to dynamically manage their own product information... He quickly connected this to the shopping cart so that the solution was complete. Wait, is this an OMS product? Fuxinating.

His inquisitive nature that can see a problem and fix it, now had a flexible solution model that can enable others to act like you. 1, read this again, it's big, don't miss it... "Your product has purpose beyond just a tool, just a solution, just a service. Your product is an extension of you and your core strengths."

I still didn't believe he had clarity regarding the relationship between the service he provides and product he sells. He mentioned a company we both knew and I got it. HOWEVER, we both acknowledged their service would have never been enough if their product wasn't right FIRST. So I asked him, "what is your top priority? what is your organization set up to be great at? where are you spending your time and energy as the leader?"

I asked him to tell me how he is using his core strengths at home and how that is working. He answered honestly and simply - it's not necessarily working how I want. Funny how work and life tend to reflect each other and yet most don't see the connection.

Here is where the hardest work will be. It's not about the brand slogan or logo or site design, it's about the leader leading. It's about the leader having crystal fucking clarity on who they are, why they are and what they want. It's about a leader who is authentically living the same life at work and home because to him there is no difference. It's about the leader getting fed up with "mismanagement" and doing something about it starting with a sunrise, exercise and intrigue.