When last did you do something that scared you? Even just a bit. 

Your comfort zone is a dangerous place to occupy for too long, so here is something I have done which you might find useful.

In the spirit of former US first Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s “Do something that scares you every day,” and using the principle of the Dunbar number that humans can only really manage 150 relationships at once, I sent the questions below to that number of people in my address book. It included those to whom I have reported, those that have reported to me, those whose work I respect and some I have peed off at various times, plus a mix of colleagues past and present, business school professors, founders, CEO’s, thinkers, strategists and one hard working sports reporter.

“What is it that I do? And what does what I do, mean?”

Some kindly asked if I was having a meltdown and one cheekily asked if I was seeking an ego boost. It was neither. Rather a (nifty, free) personal brand 360 to help me refine my product offerings. Most people refer to it as purpose, and Simon Sinek has very smartly redesigned it as finding your “Why?”  It’s something that when you are in your comfort zone, you are unlikely to do. Which is precisely why I did it.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said: “Your brand is what people say when you are not in the room.” With that in mind and the wisdom of a former finance minister that it’s pointless appearing at a beauty contest where your mother is a judge, echoing in my head, I took a deep breath and hit send.

Asking those whose opinions you respect is a good place to start and is like buying a jigsaw puzzle without a box – you have no idea what picture it will form.

Mercifully, it was positive, with some very instructive insights and it only works if you are uncomfortable with some of the responses – otherwise you have not cast your net beyond the safety of an echo chamber – which is pointless.

Only when you ask the right questions, can you get the right answers, and only then can you find solutions to whatever issue you might face.

From a business leader I admire. “You are brilliant at reading people before they have processed their own thoughts.”

A mentor: “Unconventional, informative. Interrupts a lot.”

Aha! Because I often know what the answer is likely to be I do interrupt to get to something more meaningful more quickly. It however can be jarring. The solution: Ask better questions!

When last did you ask your team:
“What do we do and why do we do it?”

Do you have the guts to ask? If not, why not?

Parables are a useful tool. They provide simple, relatable, and memorable stories that convey deeper meaning and take complex issues and turn them into actionable insights.

Whether the story about JFK meeting the NASA janitor is fact, fiction or has taken on an element of both, it has become a parable on purpose.

About 18 months after his famous moonshot speech in which he announced to the world that America would “put a man on the moon in next decade, not because it was easy, but because it was hard” he is supposed to have visited NASA for the first time where legend has it, he met a janitor carrying a broom down the hallway. The President asked what he did, and the janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” The tale is designed to demonstrate that all tasks, no matter how menial have a higher purpose and even the most elementary activities all contribute to a larger purpose – in this case getting Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin onto the lunar surface on 21 July 1969.

That is why I asked 150 people in my contacts book recently for their opinion on the work I do, deciphering the worlds most important business and economic news into tangible, easily digestible, actionable discussions to help people better understand an increasingly contested, volatile and uncertain world.

If you do this, revel in the good, but really work on the stuff that someone has been kind enough to think about sharing.

A psychologist friend of mine from university days described it as “courageous” – I think it’s necessary. What about you?

How strong are your relationships with your customers, suppliers, leadership teams and colleagues?

Most people will happily regurgitate back to you what you do, only a few will honour you with the time to reflect more deeply on what your work means. Their feedback is most valuable if you are seeking to evolve your offering.

Be cautious, warned one of my 150 when I said I was putting this in the public domain: “Outside of a trusted inner circle I wouldn’t ask what others feel, as although it shows self-awareness and strength, it may come across differently or as insecurity.

Be vulnerable sure, but not “insecure” perceptually. Wise words indeed.