Page 148 - ConvinceThemFlip

convince them in 90 seconds or less
down what he does for a living into a simple personal big
idea. Pat had a lifelong fascination with solving puzzles, so
once he could see his work in this light, his personal big-
idea statement became “I solve business puzzles.” Now
Pat has a sense of direction, he knows how to distinguish
and display the department’s strength, he knows how to
offer the promise of discovering new things, and when he
asks himself, “Am I doing it now, or not?” he can always
answer with a resounding yes.
Translating Your Big Idea
into a Ten-Second Commercial
Your personal big idea is what you tell yourself you do;
your ten-second commercial is what you tell others
you do. When asked what he does, Pat Sullivan, for exam-
ple, couldn’t go around saying, “I solve business puzzles.”
People would think he was being silly or coy or worse.
But he can say, “I help exporters find new markets, ship
their products on time, and get a good night’s sleep.” The
idea behind the ten-second commercial is that once you
offer it, the other person is so intrigued that they have to
say, “Tell me more.” It’s an invitation to conversation,
to connecting quickly.
Last year I took an assignment in Paris. I thought that I
was going to help an automobile rental company work up
140