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Imagine having Donald Miller, author of the #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller Building a StoryBrand, personally coach you in 60 days to master leadership, sales, marketing, execution, management, personal productivity, and more?
Donald Miller's upcoming book, Business Made Simple will just to this: teach you, step-by-step, how to focus on tangible skills to become a successful business leader or what he calls the value-driven professional. (For StoryBrand nerds, this is the aspirational identity of every reader that Donald Miller wants to convert to.)
Donald Miller defines a value-driven professional as:
"Someone who is obsessed with getting value to everyone they work with."
That's whether you're leading a company or work for a company, you are someone who is committed to getting others a substantial return on their investment in you.
Donald Miller is a master communicator and storyteller and knows how to invite a reader into a story.
His upcoming book is based on the idea that value-driven professionals give their company's and customers an incredible return on their investment.
"Each of us has to wake up in the morning and give people a return on the time, energy, and money they entrust to us."
He goes on to say, "this is the secret to success. If you want to succeed in work, love, friendship, and life, give people around a great return on whatever it is they invested in you".
As a Certified Business Made Simple Coach, I received an advanced reader's copy of his new book, and over the next few blog posts, I'm going to summarize my thoughts on each of the book's key principles.
Here's part one.
What is the Business Made Simple Book about?
Donald Miller argues that successful leaders operate within a system of unspoken rules that are rarely taught by the university system.
He categorizes these as a set of core character traits proven to predict success in life and business.
He also suggests these character traits will bring a set of ten core competencies that will make or save the company money.
Here are the ten core competencies
- 01. They know how a business really works. Value-driven professionals understand the importance of activity to output ratio and positive cash flow in each division.
- 02. They are a clear and compelling leader. Value-driven professionals can align and inspire a team by guiding them through a process in which they can create a mission statement and guiding principles.
- 03. They are personally productive. Value-driven professionals have mastered a specific system they implement daily so they can get more done in less time.
- 04. They know to clarify a message. Value-driven professionals are able to guide a team through a framework in which they can create a clear message promoting any product or vision so customers and stakeholders engage
- 05. They understand how to build a marketing campaign. Value-driven professionals can create sales funnels that convert interested customers into buyers.
- 06. They can sell. Value-driven professionals have mastered a framework in which can introduce products to qualified leads and consult with them until a valuable contract is signed.
- 07. They are great communicators. Value-driven professionals can give a speech that informs and inspires a team, resulting in clear action that positively affects the bottom line.
- 08. They are good negotiators. Value-driven professionals do not trust their gut when they negotiate. Rather, they follow a simple set of procedures that guides them to the best possible result.
- 09. They are a good manager. Value-driven professionals know how to create a production process that is measured through key performance indicators (KPIs) that guarantee efficiency and profitability.
- 10. They know how to run an execution system. Value-driven professionals have mastered a framework that insures a high-powered team gets the right things done.
Ten Characteristics of a Value-Driven Professional
Since no core competency can overcome bad character, as a value-driven professional you need to learn these characteristics and make an effort to improve them.
Beyond integrity and a strong work ethic, how are successful leaders different from unsuccessful leaders? Donald Miller proposes these ten characteristics are the tangible skills and mindsets translate into tangible worth on the open market.
- 01. See yourself as an economic product on the open market.
You are committed with getting people a strong return on the investment made in you. You're zealous by making other people absurdly successful.
- 02. See yourself as a hero, not a victim.
You see yourself as a hero on a mission, not a victim. Victim mentality will end your career. Once you see yourself as a hero on a mission, you
- 03. Know how to de-escalate drama
How do you escalate drama? You ask yourself: How would a calm and calculated person handle this situation? Your goal is to remain calm.
- 04. Accept feedback as a gift
Value-driven professionals are thankful for constructive feedback and know how to take feedback and use it to grow in their career.
- 05. Know the right way to engage conflict
We live in a broken world, so conflict is unavoidable. But how do you navigate conflict as a value-driven professional? You expect conflict, you control your emotions, you affirm the person you are confronting, and you understand you could be wrong. Bonus: in all great story the hero has to face a conflict.
- 06. Long to be trusted and respected more than liked
A respected and trusted leader, sets clear expectations, communicates and keeps others accountable, and rewards good performance. They care less about being liked than being respected and trusted.
- 07. Have a bias towards action
Donald Miller has observed that all great leaders have a bias towards action. They take action to make ideas happen. Nothing matters unless it gets done.
- 08. Do not choose to be confused
What he means is when there are things we don't want to do, we tend to get confused how it works. For example, you may need to fire an employee but you choose to be confused in what you should do to let this employee go.
- 09. Be relentlessly optimistic
High-impact leaders are not afraid to fail. Actually, successful leaders have failed more than most as a result experience more success in work and life.
- 10. Have a growth mindset
A value-driven professional has learned to adopt a growth mindset when faced with setbacks. This comes from the work of the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. Growth mindset individuals see the world differently from embracing challenges to persisting through obstacles to learning from criticism to finding inspiration by the success of others.
Ten Characteristics of Every Value-Driven Professional | Episode #231 | Business Made Simple Podcast
According to Donald Miller if you master the lessons introduced in his new book—the ten characteristics of a value-driven professional along with the ten core competencies of a value-driven professional—you will dramatically increase your personal worth on the open market.
What is your value as a working professional?
Do you have the character traits and skill sets of a person who can offer extreme value to an organization?
Read and apply the Business Made Simple book's principles to transform your economic worth over the next 60 days.
The Business Made Simple book by Donald Miller will be available for purchase on January 19, 2021.
