What Works

Personal strengths are like a photo filter.

Imagine you’ve got a photo that’s… fine. You upload it to Instagram or VSCO or some fun photo editing app.

And then you scroll through the filters until you find one that brings the picture to life. With the tap of a button, you can make the photo go from washed out colors to… black & white, or soft shades of peach and pink, or punchy shades of blues and greens.

Your filter might up the contrast or even everything out a bit.

Personal strengths can do the same thing for your business strategy, marketing tactics, or the way you deliver your offer.

So what happens when we start to use personal strengths as a filter for business?

First, it becomes much easier to make decisions about what steps to take next. The strengths filter makes it easier to see whether one path or another is going to work better for you.

But second, your strengths filter can help you find creative ways to do some of those shoulds and supposed-tos that just feel so meh.

What if you approach email marketing through the filter of relationship-building?

That’s going to look pretty different than an email marketing strategy based on ideation or analysis.

What if you create an online course but filter it through of teamwork?

That’s going to look pretty different than an online course based on focus or competition.

What if you prioritize networking but filter it through humor?

That’s going to look different than networking based on discipline or strategy.

And when you apply your strengths filter to come up with creative ways of reimagining these actions and systems, not only will they feel more natural to you, they’ll be more effective too.

I’ve got four more stories of business owners leveraging their strengths for you today. And the thread that runs through each of them is how using personal strengths as a filter allowed them to make components of their businesses more natural and effective.

You’ll hear from Lysa Greer, Mary Knox Miller (Nonprofit Video Lab), Dr. Nayla Bahri, Mytili Jagannathan, and Lisa Townsend on how they’ve leveraged their strengths.

Show Notes








Personal strengths are like a photo filter.



Imagine you’ve got a photo that’s… fine. You upload it to Instagram or VSCO or some fun photo editing app.



And then you scroll through the filters until you find one that brings the picture to life. With the tap of a button, you can make the photo go from washed out colors to… black & white, or soft shades of peach and pink, or punchy shades of blues and greens.



Your filter might up the contrast or even everything out a bit.



Personal strengths can do the same thing for your business strategy, marketing tactics, or the way you deliver your offer.



So what happens when we start to use personal strengths as a filter for business?



First, it becomes much easier to make decisions about what steps to take next. The strengths filter makes it easier to see whether one path or another is going to work better for you.



But second, your strengths filter can help you find creative ways to do some of those shoulds and supposed-tos that just feel so meh.



What if you approach email marketing through the filter of relationship-building?



That’s going to look pretty different than an email marketing strategy based on ideation or analysis.



What if you create an online course but filter it through of teamwork?



That’s going to look pretty different than an online course based on focus or competition.



What if you prioritize networking but filter it through humor?



That’s going to look different than networking based on discipline or strategy.



And when you apply your strengths filter to come up with creative ways of reimagining these actions and systems, not only will they feel more natural to you, they’ll be more effective too.



I’ve got four more stories of business owners leveraging their strengths for you today. And the thread that runs through each of them is how using personal strengths as a filter allowed them to make components of their businesses more natural and effective.



You’ll hear from Lysa Greer, Mary Knox Miller (Nonprofit Video Lab), Dr. Nayla Bahri, Mytili Jagannathan, and Lisa Townsend on how they’ve leveraged their strengths.






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What is What Works?

"Work" is broken. We're overcommitted, underutilized, and out of whack. But it doesn't have to be this way. What Works is a podcast about rethinking work, business, and leadership as we navigate the 21st-century economy. When you're an entrepreneur, independent worker, or employee who doesn't want to lose yourself to the whims of late-stage capitalism, this show is for you. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.