The end of March brings to a close the first quarter of the year and serves as a reality check on what 2019 is starting to look like. There are two ways to assess ourselves and the past months – one way is to focus on addressing the weaknesses, an alternative is to focus on amplifying our strengths. Tom Rath’s StrengthFinder 2.0 claims the latter is better time well spent. My lessons this month re-enforced Tom’s claim!

A. One article I stumbled upon

I am not a big fan of rap music, however popular rapper 2 Chainz made it to my reading list. An article by Damon Brown mentions how the rapper focused on “getting one fan a day” as one example on being successful by focusing on those that like your work. These ‘fans’, other than the critics, can help us understand what we’re good at (our strengths) and what we should do more of. It makes reference to the 1000 true fans theory by Kevin Kelly and Seth Godin’s new book on how marketing has evolved from advertising to the mass, to earning trust with your smallest viable audience.

B. One place I visited last month

Doing more of what you’re good at with the right audience can take you places! The Wiggles Exhibition at the Power House Museum in Sydney is one strong example of this. 25 years ago the band decided that their strength is entertaining kids. They focused solely on this audience and became Australia’s most popular band. They realised that kids (and their parents) need much more than good music and they evolved the Wiggles brand into a great Transmedia experience – from their own Netflix Channel to sold out live shows, from music songs to games, from a 4 man band, to an Australian sensation till this very day.

C. One insightful meeting

My 3-year-old son started Preschool. As parents we were invited to an evening meeting at the school. We learned about the school’s approach to an all-rounded education – the social, emotional, physical, cognitive, creative and communication side of the children’s development. Apart from getting excited to see my son in a school context, the evening made me think on the right ingredients of a work culture which helps us be the best version of ourselves. It is not much different than the principles by which this one school does it, primarily by being aware of the different facets which make us human, and by creating the right environment for each facet to flourish. In this way people can be creative without a fear of failure, communicate effectively, feel safe enough to discuss conflicting ideas, be on top of their emotions and sensitive to others. If we agree that people should bring their whole self to work, then work should cater for all the human facets that make us whole. By work I primarily mean our actions and the way we go about getting things done everyday.

So this is how it all comes together – start with the strengths, match those with the smallest sizeable audience of fans/colleagues/customers, and create an environment where that exchange can flourish.