Why your hustle needs its story : The Standard

A dad recently posted on Facebook that he was selling drawings made by his child at Sh25 each. The proceeds from sales would all go to a children’s home. The post ended up being quite popular because, in just two lines, this dad got his messaging right. He made his pitch and hit the right emotional buttons in his audience. Everyone wanted to chip in. This post perfectly illustrates why businesses need a story. According to Lindsay Thibeault of HubSpot Academy, in today’s competitive world, brands need that extra something that connects them to prospects and customers. And the one thing that can’t be taken away from a business is why it does what it does. But you can’t just spout any old narrative – there’s an order to the communication that needs to be followed to draw the biggest reaction from the brain. According to HubSpot, the correct method to use when telling your story, and which is based on Simon Sinek’s The Golden Circle Rule, is Why, How and then What. “Why are you doing what you’re doing? How will this help your audience? And What are you offering?” says Thibeault.

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Lindsay quotes Simon Sinek, an ex-advertising executive and the best-selling author of Start with Why, who says; “People don’t buy what you do – they buy why you do it”. Lindsay adds: “Companies that are universally identified as unique and successful, think Apple or Google, communicate with an ‘inside-out’ type of thinking. They start with the why and only then do they move on to talk about the how and what portions of what they do. “When you’re talking about what you do, you’re speaking to an analytical part of the brain. But when you talk about the why and how, you’re communicating with feelings and dealing with human behaviour.” However, she says, most of us communicate by starting with the ‘what’ before working our way down to the ‘how’ and ‘why’ we are in business, which makes the message less effective. So, when crafting a story about your business, keep in mind that your goal is to make a human connection. It’s about resonating with people who need your help or guidance.

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Want to be more productive? The habits to break We all get the same 24 hours in a day; it’s how we spend them that makes all the difference. To achieve more in work and life, we have to make the most of our time. While most employed people work an average of 40 hours a week, people like Tesla Founder Elon Musk clock 80-100 hours a week. Though this isn’t necessarily healthy, Musk believes “nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week”. And it’s not just about the hours you put in, but the quality of that time. You could spend 10 hours at your desk trawling the Internet and have nothing to show for your efforts at the end of the day. Productivity is the name of the game. So how do you get more of it? Well, a Forbes article suggests you break a number of habits first. Top on the list is using your phone or computer in bed because this harms your sleep and productivity (see related story on page 6).

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Second, don’t impulsively surf the Internet because it breaks your concentration. It takes a person 15 consecutive minutes of focus to fully engage in a task.  “When you click out of your work because you get an itch to check the news, Facebook, a sport’s score, or what have you, this pulls you out of workflow,” Forbes says. “Click in and out of your work enough times, and you can go through an entire day without experiencing flow.” Third, avoid the pursuit of perfectionism. People waste a lot of time agonising about the quality of their ideas or work, but it’s better to get started and give your ideas the time to evolve. As writer Jodi Picolt put it: “You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.” Lastly, don’t put off tough tasks until late in the day because then you’ll be too tired to work on them.

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“To beat decision fatigue, tackle complex tasks in the morning when your mind is fresh,” Forbes suggests.

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