Part 5: The Final Reflection (for now) on 12 Years as a Freelance Innovation and Strategy Consultant

Part 4 was about how we should proactively try to improve or disrupt where necessary, the inefficient parts of the sector or space we work in.

And now, arguably the most valuable lesson I was taught, something that ties up all previous learnings.

In 2015, I had first stumbled upon design thinking when I signed up for a project-based course on it, and it seemed to come naturally to me – to the point I pointed out a process flaw in the course itself.

My dream was to have design thinking at the core of my services and be able to have real impact on businesses, and hopefully the world. However, my bread-and-a-bit-of-butter service of helping young businesses ready themselves for fund-raising was a comfortable groove I was in.

Had I stuck with it though, I would have either ended up some niche specialist, or struggled competing on fees with the numerous services that simply created good-looking pitch decks for companies.

And that’s when, over a few rounds of beer, a friend from my co-working office told me something that many of us know but don’t apply anywhere enough.

He said (in my words now), people normally associate others with one single thing, and maybe 1-2 other less important things next. “What is the one thing you want to be known for?”, he asked. And it was instantly clear. I wanted to be among the best to use design thinking on meaningful corporate and world-changing projects.

Thankfully, I took my friend’s advice and soon after, stopped offering my bread-and-butter service entirely. It was a bit unnerving initially, because I was literally disrupting my own little comfortable ecosystem.

Interestingly, barely a year later, a global startup incubator was looking for a design thinker for a session with their cohort entrepreneurs. They reached out to me, but added that they were also considering a few other design thinkers for the session—a detail I respect. Doing your research and due diligence says as much about how much that task or objective means to you, as it does the person or firm you consider engaging for it.

Then I get a call from a friend, a jack-of-many-trades chap. He had called to to share that the incubator folks had approached him too. While I was genuinely thrilled for him, I also had a brief moment of doubt about my friend’s “be known for one thing” wisdom. That doubt vanished when the incubator team circled back, asking me to do the session. They added that they had asked around, and my name came up from 8-9 different people. I couldn’t believe it, but was thrilled with the opportunity.

At the time, design thinking in India was still quite niche, and I was fortunate to have stumbled upon it early. But for those of you in crowded fields, it is still possible, and necessary for you to identify and hone your unique superpower. Think about traits and skills that set you apart, things or aspects of your work you enjoy the most, and where you are your true or best self. Sometimes, you might be in a job where the highlight of that role isn’t something you enjoy, but there are other aspects of it that you do.

Don’t let the title or key responsibilities of your job distort that for you. Focus on identifying which responsibilities or aspects of your job you truly enjoy and are decently good at. And shape your mindset, communication and even career around that. Even if you’re not anywhere close to it yet, commitment really helps you grow into your strengths over time.

For instance, earlier in my professional career, I struggled with punctuality. But when I led strategy and marketing for a company’s division, I almost developed a deep respect for timeliness overnight. Whether the meeting was across the street or in another city, I’d usually be the first to arrive. Growth often follows intent and responsibility.

And to wrap up my friend’s ‘be known for one thing’ wisdom with an amusing example, there’s an elderly woman in my apartment building whom I would probably see and greet once every few months or so. In 2011-12, I moved to Pune, and had mentioned that when I might have met her back then. However, for about 2-3 years after I had moved back to Mumbai, whenever I’d bump into her, she would ask when I had got back from Pune. And I would remind her that I was based in Mumbai now. Yet the next time, same question. And the time after that. So, I simply started telling her that I was in Mumbai for the weekend, and heading back to Pune Monday morning. And she’d nod and go her way.

So, what do you currently want to be known for?

[Remember, your ‘one thing’ isn’t like a permanent tattoo. You can, and should revisit and change it if and whenever you feel the need to].

Cheers!

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My current focus is on consumer product companies – helping product leaders enable their teams to create even better products. I assist client product teams on the non-tech aspects of innovation and growth – understanding customer needs, effective testing of prototypes; all towards helping them develop more differentiated products that have better odds of growth and profitability, but more importantly, products that delight.

If you are a leader or product manager developing a new product, and could use a multiplier effect to all your efforts: Book a virtual consult today.