When Joe Abraham writes about traffic, he’s not talking about automotive congestion and the maddening fact that rush hour in Boston now starts at 2pm. By traffic, he means what results from your business development efforts and engine. In Entrepreneurial DNA, the author shares two power-acronym concepts that have clear impact for business people, one of which is SPACE: Suspects, Prospects, Accounts, Clients, and Evangelists. At the risk of stating the obvious, he’s talking about a funnel of client targets that evolve from possible to probable to actual to repeatable to fanatical. All of this leads to traffic jams – the good kind, the ones in which we sort through an abundance of opportunities and wind up in the enviable place of picking and choosing the most ripe, ideal projects, the ones from which we derive the most enjoyment and profit. Ah, the excitement of sales. If you can name three things in life that feel better than winning a great new client or project, you likely don’t know what on earth I’m spouting about.
The other big takeaway herein is the BOSI Profile. BOSI stands for Builder, Opportunist, Specialist, and Innovator and Abraham provides a test – albeit a rather simple one – through which the reader learns their primary and secondary type, their so-called entrepreneurial DNA. “That DNA telegraphs your potential strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies,” he writes, continuing on to say that being aware of such will “allow you to recognize when you are in your sweet spot of giftedness and when you are in the danger zone of trying to be someone you are not.” The big question is where your business is trying to go and which DNA mix is ideal to help it reach its potential. Consider that the Builder is the ruthless chess player who thrives on staying a few steps ahead of the competition; the Opportunist is the right place/right time type whose goal is to strike while irons are hot; the Specialist is the local expert who sticks to the knitting while building a long-term practice; and the Innovator is commonly found in a lab somewhere inventing and perfecting important formulas meant to solve big problems. Which best describes you? Reflect on whether or not you’re properly cast to grow your particular business. (Pause here for a 5 – 8 minute gaze in the mirror.)
And we’re back! Listen, I understand that June is busting out all over and perhaps this is all feeling a bit heavy. Maybe autumn is better suited for navel gazing and career wonderment. Or January! With a fresh New Year’s Resolution, one can begin the who-am-I soul search. Traffic is something to be avoided in summer, not developed. Makes sense. However, if you’re struggling to figure out how to grow your business and are honestly wondering about your next move, you could do worse than picking up a copy of this book. Is it clever? Not really. Exceptionally well written? Nope. A page-turner read deep into the night by flashlight, forcing the reader to swap cherished sleep for the immediate adoption of revolutionary business concepts? Yeah – no. It is what it is – a book for business people under daily pressure to make it happen. If that’s you, here’s a polite suggestion: read it soon.