You’ve got a great idea. Or maybe just an inkling of one. You hope one day it will be real, but today there are many, many unknowns.
Those questions can be daunting, especially if you’re venturing into new territory: starting up a new business, writing a screenplay for the first time, or imagining a new career, for instance.
You need help, but what kind? A proverb says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22). How do you decide what advisers you should have for your pursuit?
At my Dream Intensive workshops, participants put together a 90-day action plan to take the next steps toward their dream. For some, their dream idea is just forming, others are much farther along. Each participant is encouraged to evaluate their plan and assemble a “Dream Team” to advise them over the subsequent three months. I recommend they recruit four kinds of advisors:
The IDEATOR: The ideator is the idea machine. They can come up with more ideas per cubic minute than could possibly be implemented. And that’s a good thing, because not all of them are worth implementing. Ideators are driven by the question What could it become? You may be an ideator and think you have that covered. Think again. Even the best ideators can benefit from other ideators to keep their thinking fresh and energetic.
The DEVELOPER: What do you get with a roomful of ideators? Flipcharts full of ink. You need a developer to bring them life. Developers are the raw implementors and prototypers. They can quickly see how to take an idea and put skin on it. They typically move fast. If someone comes to you the next day showing you a mock-up, you know a developer is in your midst. The driving question a developer asks is What form should it take?
The IMPROVER: Developers can get an idea off the ground, but you need an improver to put it into production. Improvers are driven by the question How can it be made better? As experts at optimization and scaling, they’re constantly seeking ways to improve the experience, lower cost, and increase quality, all, hopefully, without sacrificing the essence of the original idea. Unfortunately, over time and after many improvements, the resulting product may lose its original zest. That’s when the next kind of advisor is needed.
The RESTORER: Restorers cut clutter. They have an uncanny ability to recapture the core idea, or a morphed better idea, and reinvigorate the product/business/etc. Their driving question is What should be redeemed? To redeem something is to free it from bondage and restorers redeem an idea from the barnacles of improvements that no longer make sense. In the business world, we call restorers “turnaround artists.”
Those who can advise you on your dream won’t fit neatly into those categories. They may span several, but knowing the primary question that drives you and your advisors can help you recruit the best team to bring your dream idea to life.
Which type of advisor is most needed for your dream right now? And what type are you?