Now, back to our programming.
I plan to make some folks uncomfortable.
Why?
Because I will bear the hammer of harsh reality and bubbles will be burst.
I mentioned a blueprint in the last article.
You may secretly hope I’ll roll out the blueprint for a business that builds cumulative advantage for you to copy. If you’re waiting for me to reveal a recipe you can just follow and start getting cumulative advantage, that’s not going to happen (bubble popped).
You will create the blueprint—you must be the architect of your plan.
What you’ll get are vital insights that make your blueprint work.
Your vision needs to be built to your specifications, not a copy of mine or one of my clients.
I can guide you as to what you need to include in your blueprint so that the final design works.
You see, blueprints are plans for those that implement to follow—a communication tool to see your vision become a reality.
A guy like Steve Wynn has a vision, but he hires an architect to help capture that vision. The concept is so big that it requires those with different expertise to execute it.
How to build your vision
In your case, you have to be the architect and the visionary unless you’re in a position to hire someone to help capture your vision.
Most of us must also be the general contractor and carpenter following that blueprint. If that is the case, you still need to work through the blueprint to validate that your building has all the necessary parts and a method to go from plan to reality.
Of course, you start with the foundation, but the structure’s height determines how deep the pilings need to be. We are building a business system and need to know how the parts work together.
What you might not know is that architects are about form and function but aren’t engineers. They use a company like Environmental Systems Design.
ESD is a big deal when building tall or unique buildings. They are the go-to company for making a building’s design work.
Want to have an elevator work in a pyramid-shaped hotel? Call ESD.
They have done the engineering work in all of the world’s tallest buildings because they’re the only ones who have the expertise.
They make sure the building works.
Before the blueprints get handed over to the general contractor to build the building, someone like ESD has thought through how the plumbing works, where the electrical is located, and if there are enough fire exits.
The devil is in those details.
The best architects know enough about this infrastructure to leave room for it. They don’t just think of the exterior aesthetics.
This series is a way for me to act as your ESD. To help you see some systems that you must build into your vision, we need your completed blueprint that captures your imagination for your brand and community, as well as all the necessary elements for sustainability and anti-fragility.
In my view, this means building from the ground up.
Now, if this all sounds daunting, don’t worry; just get started. Don’t become paralyzed by planning the perfect business.
You have what it takes. You likely just don’t know where to start or are overwhelmed by the work.
If you find yourself feeling that way, stop thinking and take action.
Action.
That’s it.
Not perfect action, but the next right thing.
For every author, the next right thing is publishing the best quality book at the lowest cost.
Regardless of your career, all my storytelling or research boils down to that line above.
Think about it…
If you’re just getting started and don’t know how to move your career forward, see above.
If you’re further down the road and making money publishing but don’t know which marketing strategies you should follow, then just say F – it and publish a high-quality book at the lowest cost.
BOOM, a new book triggers your existing audience to buy.
But the reality is many won’t.
And without published books, you don’t need to worry about all of my business strategies or a sustainable business blueprint (sound of second bubble pop).
If what you read just made you a bit angry or uncomfortable, know that I did it from a place of friendship.
Your books are the bricks you’ll build your business with. Lay the cornerstone of publishing and publish a book.
Before moving away from this blueprint/construction metaphor and going into the weeds on systems thinking, let’s talk about the most basic utility of a dwelling—water.
Our water is cash. We need to build a system that accumulates this resource in the current round and effectively utilizes it in future rounds.
Customers and cash may seem like a proxy for each other, but they are not. Money is water. Your customers (readers) are the well. If you take care of the well, you can keep going back for more water.
You need to drink some water to thrive. We also need to use water to prime the pump to get even more water out of the well. We need a system that makes the most of that precious resource from your well.
While your inner architect begins to draft up the Taj Mahal’s blueprints, your inner investor needs to remind the architect of the number of bricks you can afford for this building.
The bricks (books) are made of clay (creativity) and water (cash). While you may have endless creativity, you don’t have unlimited cash. That means economizing our cash.
After years of work, you will finally build the Taj, but to begin with, we need a sturdy foundation that the rest can be built on and a pump house that draws more water from the well.
Do you know the size of your water supply?
Do you have realistic expectations about how much water you need to siphon off to survive, let alone thrive?
Answering those questions is thinking like an investor. When it comes to the use of cash, you must be ruthless. In the next article, I’ll get you thinking like Warren Buffet.