Gino Wickman (00:00):
We have a love for driven entrepreneurs, and it's that and so many other things because it's like all I know, that's all I have been doing my entire working life is helping driven entrepreneurs. This is what I do.
Rob Dube (00:27):
Hello everyone. My name is Rob Dube, and I am here with Gino Wickman. Gino, how are you? Good to see you.
Gino Wickman (00:34):
I'm great, Rob. Good to see you.
Rob Dube (00:35):
Awesome. So big news, today we're going to discuss a shift that we've made that on the surface, it might seem kind of small, but it's actually rooted in something much deeper. So, for the listener, many of you know our work started with a deep love for driven entrepreneurs, people building businesses, and trying to make a huge impact. But recently, we found ourselves expanding beyond just the entrepreneur.
(01:05):
So now we're speaking directly to driven people, high performers, overachievers, people who may or may not own a business, but who live with a particular intensity, a purpose, a deep inner push to grow, succeed, and like I mentioned, make an impact. So why the shift? Well, two things, and Gino, you may have more. First, we've come to realize that the same patterns we saw in driven entrepreneurs struggles with things like identity control, energy, peace and meaning are showing up in all kinds of driven people. And then second, many people have shared with us that our book Shine and the content in general is not just for driven entrepreneurs. So we listened. And so today's a bit about that evolution in our work and in ourselves and the people that we're hoping to make a huge impact on.
(02:02):
And so Gino, what's coming up for you as I introduce that?
Gino Wickman (02:07):
Well, this thought comes up. We could have done this one of two ways. We could have done it a really fast way or a really in-depth way. And the fast way would be announcement, this podcast is no longer for driven entrepreneurs. It's now for all driven human beings. And then that would be the end of it. And I just personally love that we're having this conversation because this was not an easy decision. And so we're going with option two, which is giving the 10-minute version of why we made this change. And personally, I'd love to get some feedback. And so I'll come back to what that means at the end of this conversation. But you said something really interesting as you started there, where we have a love for driven entrepreneurs. And it's that and so many other things because it's like, all I know, that's all I have been doing entire working life is helping driven entrepreneurs. This is what I do.
(03:05):
And what we discovered is that driven entrepreneurs are human beings. I'm a human being driven. Entrepreneurs are human being, you are a human being. And so it was really weird for me. This has been a multi-month process. And again, that's all I know. And to expand that target market, it felt a little unfair to the driven entrepreneur because that was the focus. I felt a little inadequate because I feel like that's the only kind of person I can help as a driven entrepreneur. But again, they're human beings and I'm a human being. And as I become more of a human being, it's like all driven human beings need this stuff.
(03:52):
And so it's blatantly clear that this decision is the right decision and we need to do this. But I just love having the conversation to just bear our soul and cleanse our soul. And when I said feedback, I would love it if anyone out there listening, shoot us an email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the decision because we get feedback from people that, like Rob said, are saying, can you please expand the target market? This stuff is for more than just driven entrepreneurs, like you said.
(04:25):
So please shoot us an email. Love the idea. Hate the idea. How does that make you feel as a driven entrepreneur? How does that make you feel as a driven human being? So those are all the things that come to my mind.
Rob Dube (04:37):
So, just a couple things, and then hopefully your gears will continue to turn. First, I just want to say somebody listening might be wondering or thinking, oh, or you're just trying to expand your market. And we both resisted that quite a bit. One thing, Gino, that you taught me two decades ago now, maybe more, stay focused, you say it all the time, it's on your emails, I think. Stay focused. It's the term. And I so took that to heart when I was building imageOne. I had so many ideas when we first met, and after I got bought into everything that you taught me, boy, did we stay focused. I mean, just so laser-focused, never allowed distractions in, and it really served us.
(05:29):
So this was really hard for me as well. But what I was noticing is because I'm working so closely with clients and talking to many people about our content, people on leadership teams were coming up to me saying, "I'm just not a driven entrepreneur. And so this doesn't really relate to me." And I think, "Yes, it does. You are so driven. You're a leadership team member, you're heading up operations for a $30 million company. You've got a lot going on and a lot of responsibilities. And as a driven person, you're taking that on." And that's a driven person who takes on those kinds of responsibilities.
(06:09):
So I just kept listening and it just kept coming back and coming back and coming back. And then it wasn't a large amount of people, but we had a couple of people that had nothing to do with business whatsoever who sent us emails and said, Hey, this content's great. This really applies to everybody. I don't know why you're just talking to driven entrepreneurs. That kind of got us continuing on with the conversation. Those were some light bulb moments for me. What's coming to mind for you?
Gino Wickman (06:44):
Yeah, just a couple extra thoughts. I've always been fond of exclusivity. In other words, I love that it's focused on that very specific target market to your focus point and all the EOS content. I'm fanatical in all of the books about, it's for a 10 to 250 person company. In other words, I just know the sweet spot and where it's going to have the most impact. It's just we're realizing that it's having that level of impact on others. Granted, we're still focused on driven people, driven human beings, driven leaders, these achievement-oriented people, which is still only about 10% of the population. So it's not like we've opened it up to 8.5 billion people, but it's just, like I said earlier, it's just kind of a no-brainer. And it's really obvious. And then a little history here as well. For four years, you and I have wrestled with this because in those first two years, we went back and forth, are we really going to just focus on driven entrepreneurs? And it was a resounding yes back then.
(07:46):
So all signs are pointing to broadening it. And then you and I, were going to write a second book after Shine focused on leaders. And this is a great opportunity to just create the content for that broad audience. And that's leading us to going back into Shine. We are changing the target market in Shine, so we're going to do some editing around that. And it just feels right, and it's just a little weird. And I think this is the last of the commitment and cleansing and just saying, we're going to do this thing, and so we're going to do this thing.
Rob Dube (08:23):
Yeah. A question I had for you that had come up and then you and I met yesterday, and you brought it up kind of in a separate conversation, but one of the things that you have your sights on is making an impact on millions and millions of people, 70 million to be exact.
Gino Wickman (08:43):
Yes. It's okay. I said that. It's okay. I think I've said it publicly.
Rob Dube (08:47):
Oh, you did. Actually, you did say it on a podcast.
Gino Wickman (08:49):
Yeah, yeah.
Rob Dube (08:49):
Yeah. So I wondered at all how that played into of your thought process, if at all. Maybe it didn't.
Gino Wickman (08:57):
Well, it really didn't, but certainly, it's going to be hard to reach 70 million driven entrepreneurs because I don't think there are any.
Rob Dube (09:05):
How many are there?
Gino Wickman (09:06):
I don't know. I honestly don't know. In our work with Rocket Fuel and visionaries and integrators, a visionary as a driven entrepreneur, our math showed that it's about 1% of the population. So you can get there, but that's also the population of the United States. So that would mean in the United States, there are, what's that math, 3 million that's still not 70. But no, that was not the master plan. It was holy crap, I can't get to 70 so we got to expand the target market. But it will definitely help that goal be realized.
Rob Dube (09:41):
Yeah. So if you're listening maybe, and if you feel pinged, as Gino mentioned, send us your feedback [email protected]. And also, if you feel pinged, share the content with people first. Maybe it's leadership team members that you have, but maybe there's people in your lives that you just recognize as being highly driven people. These are doctors and lawyers and real estate agents and insurance agents. They're scientists, they're athletes, they're artists. It runs the gamut. You know it when you see it. You can tell, and you're surrounded by them. Those are your kinds of people. So share the content with them and we would be so grateful if you help us help make an impact on those people in this world. And so, I don't know, is there anything else that comes to mind around this, Gino, for you?
Gino Wickman (10:33):
No, I am cleansed.
Rob Dube (10:37):
I didn't want it to be too dramatic or anything, but we did want to kind of explain some things.Yeah.
Gino Wickman (10:42):
We could have done this in a very short one-sentence headline, but I just really love that we basked in it for a little bit.
Rob Dube (10:48):
All right, Gino, thanks. And thank you all for listening and joining us as always, and we will see you next time. And in the meantime, stay focused, and much love.
Gino Wickman (11:00):
Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us, and please tune in for the next episode. Until then, if you'd like to see where you are on your True Self journey, go to shedandshinepodcast.com to take the True Self-assessment and receive personalized guidance.
(11:19):
If you're all ready to begin your inner world journey with Rob and myself, please join us for the next round of the 10 Disciplines group coaching program. We wish you all the best in freeing your True Self, stay focused and much love.
