The Fear of Focus
When you’re seeking clarity, you know that you need to focus, right? But focus on what? The fear of focus is the fear that the thing you do focus on might be wrong or not enough, that people would want more or that you might miss out on an opportunity that’s outside the focus. The evil part is that of course that’s true. You might miss out. Only that there’s even more to gain once you’re clear about what really matters.
The Curse of Knowledge
The more you know about something, the harder it gets to speak about that thing in simple terms. Which is evil: because it’s your passion that you know most about while it’s also your passion that you need clarity the most for.
The Lazy Empathy Trap
To you, it’s totally obvious why your product is superior to other products. Actually, people would be fools to assume otherwise, right? The lazy empathy trap leads you to believe that that’s true. So you come up with reasons why your customers would love your product if they looked from your perspective – rather than asking them and finding out what they really care about.
The Shiny New Object Syndrome
Whenever a new idea pops up or a shiny new thing comes around the corner, it screams for your attention. It distracts you from doing what’s most important. It leads you to explore new paths when you still haven’t found clarity on your destination. And so you might end up traveling far but actually getting nowhere.
The WOW misconception
It’s easy to assume that it’s the great show that makes people buy your product. So, you need that bang. That wow effect. The evil part is that it get you attention and applause. And yet, you don’t need your audience to cheer what a great show it’s been. You need them to see what a great idea it is. The aha effect is much more profound than the wow effect. And way more sustainable. It’s what makes it click for people.
The good news is that clarity is revelation work. Rigour is your best friend. Start with empathy, build solutions to actual problems of your customers, and then tell true stories about it. This will lead you to overcome the five evil forces.
PS: My online course “Crack the clarity code” is actually designed based on these forces. It teaches strategies to overcome each.