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.
💡 What, like it's hard?
|
I didn’t expect to pick up business tips from Reese Witherspoon dropping by to see fanboys Matt & Bowen on Las Culturistas, but here we are. Among other surprisingly resonant topics like when it’s time to go out on your own, and understanding that you’re not right for every project, Reese shared about her technical choices while filming Legally Blonde that made her character so multidimensional and iconic even 25 years later. Relevant clip starts at 07:51 [YouTube]:
Reese: My thing was always thinking: How can I be contrarian? How can I play this how no one else would play this? Because that’s what I’m here to be: original, not be ‘basic’. There were a hundred ways to play Elle Woods that I was like: “Seen it. Done it. Not doing that." So if you thought she was going to be bitchy or spoiled rotten? No, she had a really soft center. If thought she was going to be dumb and say the wrong thing? No, she was going to say it laser-sharp with crisp words and daggers in her eyes. So I was always trying to startle people with that ‘switch’. I don’t always love contrarianism just for the sake of it. I personally find it off-putting when someone’s default starting point is “everyone else is doing this wrong.” (The contrarian persona has ironically become mainstream in the expertise arena.) But what I take for us from Reese’s playbook is to consider: What are the common ways you’d expect someone to solve your client’s painful problem? Certainly don’t just copy them - that’s the surefire way to be “basic” and commoditize yourself. And don’t manufacture a contorted process just for the sake of differentiation. Your clients will still expect clarity and efficiency. But rather, look for the layers and depth that are sped past by others in your space. Harp on the nuances of your ideal client's problem that others overlook -- that becomes your signature edge that, in Reese’s words, will ‘startle’ your potential clients in a positive way and initiate deeper conversations. (A scented, pink résumé is still very much optional.) If you’re a fan at all of Reese’s work, the conversation is a real treat.
💡 -Wes |
💡 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.