August 22, 2011 67 Comments

The Single Strand

Needle and Thread

When someone speaks about you to someone else, what do they say? How would they refer to you? What would be the brief way they sum you up?

When we talk about Apple, we often talk about design. Or maybe we say “it just works.” When we talk about Zappos, we think of customer service. When we talk about Seth Godin, we might say “purple cow” and tell people to be remarkable.

What’s Your Single Strand?

I’m asking because I’m thinking about my own right now. What would sum me up? And usually, when people try to answer this for someone else, they tend to speak from their past. For example, if I say “Zappos,” lots of people say “shoes.” But that’s not how Zappos wants you to think about them, because they sell a lot more than shoes. If you think of me as that Twitter guy or the Trust Agents guy, then that’s from stuff from over a few years ago.

So strands have to go a bit deeper than the project of the moment, and one hopes that they do.

What’s your single strand? How do you represent yourself in that way? What does it change about what you choose to do or not do with your business?

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  • http://twitter.com/C_Pappas Christina Pappas

    I have really had a lot of reflection on this point that last couple of months and I honestly like what I have heard. People have told me that they see me as a t-shaped person; I specialize in something but I have covered it all. I love that! Had a great conversation yesterday with a hiring manager who after talking for awhile about what my approach would be should I be offered the job, remarked ‘you have a very interesting take on challenges and obstacles I have not seen before.’ (he said this in a good way ;) ) So cool! So if I were to define my single strand, I would hope that I am representing myself as someone who thinks about things and defines a strategy for success in a new way that wasnt considered before. Fun exercise Chris!

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com/blog Amy Taylor

    Such a great question. I would like to think our single strand would be “passion people.” 

  • Anonymous

    Excellent question and one every modern business and individual should be thinking about. I like to call it The One Thing. I’ve done a lot of things in life – a lot of seemingly unrelated things – but if I had to name my One Thing, or my single strand, it would be “evangelist.” No religious connotation – I’ve just been an evangelist and wanting to convert people to whatever thing I happen to be doing at any given time. Thanks for helping me remember that, Chris.

  • Vanessa Hall

    ‘The trust lady’ – that’s actually what other people call me when they meet me, so it made sense to adopt it!

  • http://www.i95dev.com Henry Louis

    My Single Strand is that I am lazy :)

  • http://www.i95dev.com Henry Louis

    My Single Strand is that I am lazy :)

  • Anonymous

    Really great question, Chris, that I have been steeping in lately, too. For now, that single strand is probably “The Wonder Guy.” Still, people call me and say, “I’m not sure exactly what you do, but I (my organization) want(s) to work with you. In some way.” I’ll get back to you. Cheers.

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    To some of the people who commented: the strand is not necessarily job
    related, it’s something that sums you up. The interesting thing is to
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