💡 The Lightbulb
A daily email about monetizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.
💡 And just like that...your niche [Recap]
Have these last two weeks of Lightbulbs seemed heavy? It’s because we’ve covered a lot. We started with finding your genius zone - you’re most unique, engaging and highest margin work Identifying the transformation you deliver operating in your genius zone Brainstorming different client types that need that transformation (ICPs) Using AI to elevate and accelerate viability analysis of those ICPs Validating that analysis with independent research and real-world conversations And finally...
💡 The AI rabbit hole + Seeking pilot participants!
Did you play around with the ICP/niche analysis ChatGPT prompt yesterday? (I’ve left the prompt and sample output here) If you ran it, you would’ve gotten an impressive, if not lengthy, customized analysis of potential lanes to explore for your consulting business, using my A-P-I framework. If you got that far, your curiosity likely took hold and you continued to refine the analysis: Add more potential client types Drop a few that you now see are likely dead-ends Add more comparison factors...
💡 An AI prompt for ICP analysis
So we’re at this crossroads where you identified three potential client types (ICPs). Yesterday, I gave you a three-lens framework through which to evaluate them (A-P-I). At a high-level: Access - Can you reach and speak to this audience at scale? Problem - Is the problem you’d solve for them predictable and expensive? Impact - Does the transformation you provide create significant, direct value? These are important things to consider, but you could spend weeks or even months on this...
💡 Shopping for an ideal client [The A-P-I method]
Note: A funny thing happened on the way to writing today’s Lightbulb. I set out to present my simple framework to narrow your three potential ICPs down to one. Then I found a way to elevate and accelerate this analysis (hint: 🤖). So today, I’ll share the ‘analog’ version to get you oriented with the principles. And tomorrow, we’ll fasten our seatbelts and hit the AI gas, potentially saving you weeks of gut-wrench and indecision. So you identified your zone of genius… And the transformation...
💡 Is my 'secret sauce' monetizable?
We went hard on finding your zone of genius last week. You articulated the activities that leverage your skills and strengths into nearly effortless work. It’s an intentionally internally-focused exercise to triangulate what lights you up, without the noise of whether or not you see a market for it. You now know your ‘secret sauce’. Now, we want to figure out if that secret sauce is monetizable. Let’s take an extreme example and say you identified your genius zone as being able to solve a...
💡 New cadence for The Lightbulb!
Just a quick update on cadence. TLDR: Starting tomorrow, I’m shifting The Lightbulb to 5x/week. Some rationale for those interested: From my reader survey in October, I heard some lovely feedback like: “I look forward to this email every day.” “I look forward to every email.” “Daily is good.” Mixed in with: “Every day is a lot.” “I can’t keep up every day, so maybe an occasional summary.” “Take the weekends off. 5 days is way generous enough.” Now, daily has always been an intentional choice....
💡 Safeguarding against catastrophes
Photo: AP / Ethan Swope Suffice it to say that the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles have been devastating to watch. Unfortunately, natural disasters and weather events have become increasingly frequent, but that doesn’t make them any less catastrophic for those impacted. Just in the past year, readers of this very list have been personally impacted and displaced by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the US, and the Valencia floods in Spain. And while our minds and hearts stay focused on lending...
💡 Maximize your genius time
Ok, so now did you get to a genius zone statement? :) The magic sentence or two that captures the type of activities that best leverages your unique expertise and skill set? A few questions to consider: How does it feel seeing your genius zone written out? Surprising? Revelatory? Empowering perhaps? Looking back over your consulting and corporate careers, has the bulk of your time been spent in that zone? If you could do nothing but that type of work as a consultant, would you feel energized,...
💡 Your genius zone defines your bullseye
Did you get to a zone of genius statement? I’m doubling down here because being clear in your own mind about your unique skill set (natural and acquired) can make everything else you do with your consulting business so much easier. Think about it: You’re designing your own business, essentially from scratch... Why would you opt into offering tasks or activities that don’t allow you to put your best foot forward? If you were a cake baker opening a bakery, you’d make and sell your best cakes If...
💡 Derive your 'genius zone' statement
If you’ve been following along this week, you’ll notice we’re working backwards. Want to immediately communicate your value? Simplify your promise. To simplify your promise, you'll need to simplify your offer. To simply your offer, design it squarely around your genius zone So how do we identify our genius zone? The easy answer is you probably “just know”: What comes to your mind first when I ask: What tasks light you up? What kind of work makes time disappear? What doesn’t feel like work to...
A daily email about monetizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.