Stella Orange finding the message that makes your cash register sing

What You Don’t Know…

Consider the possibility that none of us can possibly know everything, but we can each know some things really, really well.

Lately, I’ve had more than one client beseech: “Just tell me what to do!” And to be honest, it’s been a bit unsettling, because being on the receiving end of another human being forking over that much trust is a humbling proposition.

But as I’ve been working this over in my mind—much like a six year old who tongues the space where her baby tooth used to be— I realize that the time has come to put our trust in one another.

Strangely, my business is what’s teaching me that I cannot afford to be an island unto myself. As I strive to play “a bigger game”—both in my business and in my life writ large—I am perpetually shown that my vision is so grand, I can’t possibly achieve it as “el lobo solo.”

I need help.

(The shadow axiom? Other people want my help, too).

In a culture that pins our butterfly wings between the two extremes: “do it yourself” or “clean my toilets, fix my car, teach my kids, cook my meals”… it’s little wonder that so many of us are flummoxed and adrift about what to delegate, and what to keep on our to-do lists.

Especially as business owners.

But the ingenuity and thrift that got us to where we are today will not carry us to the fabled “next level” of our enterprise.

It’s often more of a gut-check exercise than we may feel comfortable admitting. Do I trust this person… think this person knows what she’s doing… would I want to sit beside this person at a dinner party/cross-Atlantic flight?

And this principle, that guides you about who to trust, is the very same one that brings other people flowing into your business, too.

Yes, it’s a bit crazy and old-fashioned. And I fully realize it opens us up to some vulnerability, and some risk of being hoodwinked.

But I also have the sense that for our businesses to really flourish, we need to let go of a whole lot of control… and our demands that we know entirely what’s going on around us.

Much like we are asking our favorite clients and customers to do with us.

Which is a particularly curious thing on the inter webs, where so much is so anonymous, unverified, and has the distinct feel of old-timey revivals with the mysterious elixirs and the faith healings and the hallelujahs.

But that’s also one big opportunity for you to stand out among the crowds who also do what you do, but who aren’t as grounded, who don’t provide evidence… and who still rely on the played-out pitch of the snake oil salesmen.

Where will you extend your trust this week, so that others may place their trust in you?

(Photo courtesy of nathanking's flickr photostream.)