Your language determines your thoughts.
Your thoughts determine your actions.
Your actions determine your results.
So I guess in a sense those postmodernists were right about something – the way you use language matters. More than you think.
Luckily however we don’t need to overthink it too drastically when it comes to business. In fact there are just two words we can use which will make the world of difference.
They are:
- “Really”
- “Actually”
Yes, really. Before I dig into what makes these two words so special, let me back up a sec to lay the context.
The biggest anchor holding your business back is always a belief in things that simply aren’t true. We are all guilty of this – much more than we know – because human beings will always sugar coat reality for all manner of psychological reasons. Perhaps to make ourselves feel better. Perhaps to protect our egos. Perhaps to avoid difficult conversations. Whatever the reason, it happens, and it normally manifests in bogus beliefs about:
- The merits of our offering versus competitors
- Why our customers choose us
- Why other people don’t choose us
- What the major problems are in the business right now
…and all manner of other mission critical stuff which it’s damn important to have a handle on.
When we don’t know the truth of these things, we make dumb decisions. We become incapable of growth, and keep getting poor results without understanding why.
If I was being super blunt about it, I’d say that every client I’ve ever had has been utterly deluded on two or three critical fronts when I started working with them. This doesn’t say anything about them – I’m equally deluded when it comes to my own stuff – it’s just part of the human condition.
So, needless to say, we need some help getting over this.
And the words “really” and “actually” have a magical quality when it comes to that.
The way you use them is very simple. Just ask all the usual important questions you might ask about your business if you were looking to drive it forwards – but then shove one of these words in, and ask them again.
So “how are we different from our competitors?”
Becomes “how are we really different from our competitors?”
So “why do our customers choose us?”
Becomes “why do our customers actually choose us?”
So “does our marketing messaging work?”
Becomes “does our marketing messaging actually work?”
I know the difference seems trivial, but the second question will get startlingly different (and more useful answers). The game is particularly powerful if you ask the question without the words first (so people get the lies and delusions out of their system), and then ask the adapted question straight afterwards. In this way people will feel compelled to give a different answer to their previous one, increasing your likelihood of getting to the bottom of things.
Most companies out there could do with a “blood letting” of this kind. Certainly the ones who aren’t growing as fast as they’d like. A kind of seismic “inquisition” where you put all this stuff on the table and paint a portrait of the business as it really is today.
From that point, you’ll be far better positioned to make some choices that are actually going to have a positive effect on the business.
Needless to say this can be politically tricky, and you’re going to have to manage the way you do it. But even then, I’d say that if these sorts of discussions create political problems for you, then that very fact IS your problem.
That sort of decadent cowardice is (sort of) OK for a multi-billion dollar corporation which is in churn mode. But for a business with any kind of serious growth ambitions, it’s total poison.
So, if you really want to understand your business, actually give this a try. And let me know if you uncover anything remarkable.
