How Not To Create Value (Things I Learned the Hard Way!)
Day 2 — 30 Days Writing Challenge
When asked what I do for a living, I respond saying “I’m a Value Creator”. I say this because I am always seeking to replace what is missing and re-introduce what is omitted; to give things, people, businesses and organizations an improved sense of worth and inevitably… value.
In all the time that I’ve been on this journey of increased worth and innovation, it most definitely has been quite a learning curve and what I can categorically pick out from my Three Years on this route are the few things that I shouldn’t have done in the name of value creation.
Between starting a podcast on social responsibility, basic strategy consulting for small businesses, developing a notebook in hopes to end all other notebooks, researching into better ways to build structures sustainably and revolutionizing cookies as we know it, my ambition constantly meets with the harsh realities of physical limitations that were not considered in the land of inspiration, revelation and innovation where value comes from.
The following are a few things that I did and in the long run, brought me nothing but stress till I was spread thin with frustration:
Overthinking things
Can one really recover from the latent perfectionist mindset that tells you “It’s not ready yet”, “This is utter crap”. A lot of times, I think about my work so much that it cripples me and the work itself; no meaningful progress made, no value created and my sense of fulfillment still very much wrapped in a nice unopened gift box :(.
Truth is, it is never done. It is never ready, fool-proof or perfect. I’ve come to realize that the only way to know if it’s worth doing is to do it. The only way to know if it is worth the work is to put it in front of the people I’ve designed the solution for. No matter how perfect a solution is; it’s potential users would always make changes to them, seek more or even tell you to go back to the drawing board. Either way, sending your thoughts on an overdrive would get you nowhere near creating the v in value.
Going it alone
Superman with S on his chest. Tossing airplanes and saving the day alone! Yet, I wonder why he is a part of the Justice League! I’ve come to realize that my solo victories only point to my unique capabilities and whatever special effect that I have. The moment I begin to base everything on what I can do alone, I burn out quickly and even my uniqueness gets no compliments because it becomes unattractive as it is worn out to the last thread! Finding the right people to work with to actualize a dream can be daunting but it is sure worth it when the right combination is made. You cannot get out of a pit unless you are helped by another!
Being “realistic”
This is the fastest way to kill your ideas or unique value proposition. We live in a world of realities and these realities merge to create new ones every second. When I tried being “realistic” and looking at what’s already existing, I found that I was only creating a copy of another; like the Part 2 of a Nollywood Movie to be grabbed NOW! Value cannot be created this way, only continuity can and if you pick the wrong reality to “innovate” with, you just might be creating the sequel of a problem in the name of innovation. It’s okay to observe and learn from what is but in the end, you must create your own reality and share it! When their spark meets your dynamite, under the right conditions, an explosion of value would emerge.
Thinking what you’re doing is “One of A Kind”
It’s not new. It’s not the first! Stop thinking this way.
The moment you get stuck thinking to yourself that you are doing something totally novel, you have merely set up yourself for a jolly ride with pride and eventual disappointment. Someone else somewhere is thinking of the same problem too as well as the same solution. The only thing you can do differently is to hold on to your uniqueness and breathe it into a problem to give you an edge in a market of many options. It’s key to always see value as a body and you being responsible for the care and maximization of a part of it and not the creation of a new body entirely.
Neutrality
God doesn’t like lukewarmness and neither does the devil. My friend! Pick a side! You can’t play saviour of all and sundry and not end up confused. This I had to learn the hard way. When trying to create value, it is important to clearly define who you are creating it for and the side of the map that they are on. General solutions are derived from iterations of a particular one; this simply means seek to create value for a specific group and gradually try to diversify as you go. You simply cannot to play Jesus Christ and save the universe; even this salvation is still being rejected by those who don’t identify. In essence, it is best to pick a unit of society for which to create value and focus on just that for starters. This helps to avoid confusion, waste of resources and utter dissatisfaction on your part and on the part of those who you are creating it for.
Value is really the worth of something. It is embedded in anything and everything that we do. So whichever type of value you seek to create, ensure to do it right and never forget that you are only doing your own part of a whole and not trying to create anew.
