I feel like a pink feather duster would be really on brand for me. That said, when I’m thinking about preparing your business for spring, can we do more than flick the dust off the top?

If you’re after top tips for clearing out your files and decluttering your desk top, this is not the article for you. Although you could write into my ‘Dear Richard’ column if that’s something that’s really bothering you.

Meanwhile, let’s look at those cobwebs in the corner. Spiders spin their webs year-round, but they’re more visible in the autumn for various reasons. The rest of the time, we just live with the webs because we don’t notice them. I suggest you do notice them.

Our businesses and lives have invisible rules. They’re just like those sometimes-visible, sometimes-hidden webs. Unless we ask why or are exposed to that certain light, they just keep on hanging there over everything you do.

Asking why is becoming a key part of my life. I probably sound like a petulant toddler who won’t let it go. My inspiration for this comes from sound sources. 

Firstly, there’s Simon Sinek’s ‘Why’ TED talk. An explanation of how we are driven by emotion and belief rather than logic. Do you need an example? Just look at your own life. Logic says that vegetables and not sitting at a desk all day are good for us. Emotion says pass the cake.

Then I’ve been re-reading Be More Pirate by Sam Conniff. That’s got me asking questions about why and who.

 Are you doing it for the navy because you’ll be flogged, and, worse still, might miss out on your rum allocation? Or has your beady eye settled on something (while climbing the rigging) that is meaningful to you and to others?

Who are your other people? The ones who want to be part of the story, the story you are telling them.

Understanding your story and your why is like a choose-your-own-adventure book. You can go through it again and again, trying different paths every time. You can even cheat and go back when it turns out the page you choose results in an ending you didn’t like. 

For me, you can’t tell your story if you don’t know what it is. Then, over time, you’ll tell it better because you understand both why you are telling it and who you are telling it to. Revisiting my own Brand DNA has been eye-opening. A few cobwebs that were exposed to the light. A why and who that shines brighter as a result.

Neglect your why and who and the dust will settle without you even noticing. It’s like creating a strategy and then putting it in a drawer. It won’t implement itself.  

Need a hand with understanding your why and who? Let me give you a hand with letting the daylight in and exposing the cobwebs.