Zugunruhe: Helping great people get [good] things done: Zoog.un.roo.ee

Focus on Finding your Ideal Clients

When Jim Collins looked at businesses that made the leap from good to great, one of his key findings was that the highly successful endeavors started with “who.” That is, these businesses crafted their success by identifying who the right people were and focused on getting the right people on board first before determining mission, goals, or anything else. To create dynamic, profitable, or sustainable organizations, the right people come first. This is true not only of who runs the organization and does the work, but also as part of the process of defining who you serve.

Lately, the so-called law of attraction has been getting a lot of press. The idea is that you get what you ask for, more or less. How that works is debatable, but the bottom line is simple: focus on what you want more of and you’re far more likely to get it.

To determine the identity profile of the ideal client (aka the recipient of your services), you need to look for the qualities that are absolutely essential. For Zugunruhe, the ideal client is professional, smart, funny, and has tons of initiative. He or she is a leader, either in action or in the making. These are people with vision who aren’t afraid to innovate and are not afraid to take some risks. Most important of all, these are people who intend to make a difference in the world, who are living their lives with purpose and meaning. They talk about solutions and have the characteristics that Jim Collins identifies as “level five:” unassuming yet strong willed, taking responsibility, giving credit, convinced of success, but cognizant of what the harsh realities are.

Your profile of your ideal client may look very different from ours but one thing is sure, if you work with people who lack the qualities you find ideal, your work will suck the life out of you. I know, because I’ve been there and done that. Working with the right people is a clear-burning fuel source, an experience that makes work feel more like play and has the days flying by.

The last part of the process of the identifying who you want to work with is learning how to spot the ideal people in a sea of choices. Granted, you may feel that you’re not in a position to be choosy. That’s understandable. There’s an interesting paradox at work here, though. Have you ever noticed how opportunities seem to mushroom? Take advantage of one opportunity and it leads to another, related opportunity.

Given the known tendency of opportunities to propagate, you get to decide: what opportunities do you want more of? By focusing you efforts on identifying the people you are meant to serve, your ideal clients or customers, and relentlessly seeking opportunities to serve those people, you will build a organization that is both profitable and sustainable along with a life that is satisfying and fulfilling. What could be better than that?

Zugunruhe Changes

In the coming weeks, there will be some changes at Zugunruhe. We are migrating to some place new. To start the ball rolling, I’d like to introduce you to our newest colleague, Dr. Teri Lewis Palmer. You can learn more about Teri by checking out our video on YouTube and in her own words, quoted below.

Tomorrow, we’re starting a corporate journey through Michael Port’s bestseller, Book Yourself Solid. We intend to document every step of the way right here on the blog. We’re doing this because Zugunruhe is refining its mission, target market, and how we deliver services and Port’s book provides a systematic method for that sort of process. Not only that but we provide a real world, real time example that will demonstrate how business building works by letting you behind the scenes. This is a rare opportunity for you to watch a company create something new from the ground up. That’s a bit scary to do in public but promises to be fun, too. We hope you’ll join us.

Until then, please say hello to Teri:

I first heard the word Zugunruhe last fall while at Tara’s house. She was talking about the business she was launching. My immediate fondness for this word was partly based on how much fun it is to say, but also because I was in the midst of a transition, or migration, myself. In fact, transition is the reason that Tara and I originally met, became friends, and now have become business colleagues.

Like many of you, I am in a dual-career relationship that has required compromise and flexibility. For the past 20 years I worked in the field of education as a consultant and for the past eight years as a researcher and university faculty member. A few years ago, I was attending a training where we had to create a metaphor for our career paths. My metaphor was a patchwork quilt that linked both my interest in sewing and crafts and my fortune in having great opportunities come my way and the wherewithal to take them. The patchwork quilt image original came to me because of the discomfort I felt when explaining that some of my career choices were based on my spouses career needs. Looking back now I realize that the beauty of quilts is how seemingly unrelated pieces come together to create a whole.

To be honest, I started college with the intent of becoming a journalist but started taking psychology courses and became passionate about working with people and providing support. In my masters program I was offered one of two paid internships and decided that working with adults with disabilities sounded like a good idea. It was. From this experience I learned to consider actions and behaviors as expressing a need. This perspective lead me to work in public schools with at-risk students.

After spending over fours years as an educational and behavioral consultant, we moved back to Oregon and I had the opportunity to get my Ph.D from the University of Oregon. At this point I added research to my service and consultation background. While my passion remained to understand a person’s behavior and then provide them support by increasing their skill capacity I began working on larger systems – schools, districts and eventually states.

So, why add another piece to my career quilt? Several reasons: I have two teenage children and commuting and out-of-state-travel was keeping me from home more than I wanted, I had out-grown my current position and was needing to take a career step for my professional development, and another opportunity arose. A few months ago, Tara was giving me a ride home from breakfast with friends and I mentioned that I had a feeling that there was something I was supposed to do, that it needed to be service oriented, rely on evidence-based practices and create a supportive work culture. She turned to me and asked “Want to do this together? I have some ideas.”

So, here we are beginning the next migration in our professional lives We look forward to sharing our thoughts, successes and challenges with you as Zugunruhe goes through it’s own change process.

Best wishes,
Teri Lewis Palmer