Business Strategy Coaching:

Following on from my blog “I wish I’d known that then” about the Wealth Dynamics profiling system (for details go here), I’ve been working with my “Accumulator” profile for over six years, and have really got a handle on how the 8 profiles interact.  I particularly understand which profiles my Accumulator works well with, and how.

My steady, analytical, considered approach is a great counterpoint to the dynamic and rather chaotic energy of a ‘Creator’.  I describe myself as ‘the guy who holds on to the kite strings’ – we all know if kites are allowed to just go wherever they want, they soar straight up into the sky and quickly come crashing to earth, and with a steady and experienced hand on the strings they can rise and rise (my thanks to Patrick Moore, Supporter/Dealmaker extraordinaire, for that analogy).

When I left corporate world, the first thing I did was consulting on Key Accounts Strategy – analysing the accounts’ strategic value, using my peculiar analysis skills. I say “peculiar” because for about 15 years I’d shoe-horned myself into a role that wasn’t really the best for me – as an Accumulator I love being analytical, and the Key Accounts roles I was doing really needed the more relationship-building skills of a Dealmaker. So I adapted my analytical bent, and analysed the relationships as well as the hard numbers. And in the process created the style I call “Inquisitive Analysis” (IA).

IA is all about understanding the numbers and the people.   A core question in the approach is: “What else has to be going on here for this to make sense?”  With the numbers, it’s “What variables are we missing here, that lead to this market or financial performance?” (scarily often, it’s competitor activity that hasn’t been considered!).  And with people, it’s “What has to be in their mind, for that behaviour to make sense?”  Starting from the premise that people rarely do things they know to be wrong or stupid, it’s generally possible to construct a workable approximation to their model of the world – and to communicate more effectively within it.

So despite being in essentially the “wrong” job for a fair chunk of my career, I still managed to come out of it with a unique talent, something that really sets me apart.

What’s your unique talent, the thing that makes you truly special?