Chapter 6

THE CREATOR

MEET THE CREATOR

Like the resourceful beaver, Creators can transform a few twigs and leaves into something incredible. Even better, they don’t need a blueprint to do it; they exhibit a natural know-how. Most Creators are inventors, entrepreneurs, or “new-toy” kind of thinkers. They are able to take inspiration from the most unlikely places, and they feel a natural energy to start and then build a long-lasting dam that the entire forest can appreciate.

If you received this profile, you are probably fueled by new ideas with an excitement that can be seen from the moon. This joy influences the way you consume and share information, especially onstage. You can easily recognize Creators by their natural speaking energy, not because they love presenting but because they love talking about innovative ideas. In all aspects of their lives, they frequently share world-changing, groundbreaking, interesting information with those around them.

Creators aren’t limited to a perpetual internal stream of “shiny new objects!” They also have a strong amount of empathy for their audience, and they love to see positive change in those around them. This is why they strive to choose messages that have long-lasting impact. They want to see positive change happen in the world. This perspective gives Creators a terrific onstage presence with enduring appeal.

However, the course of a river doesn’t always run smoothly for Creators. This persona tends to struggle with details, lacking the energy or desire to spend time in the research phase once they’ve started building on a great idea. They also tend to avoid connecting with their audience offstage, shying away from discussion sessions that might dampen their adventurous spirit. Creators don’t like people who wear frowns and ask a lot of questions.

Think about the last time you had dinner with friends, and all of you talked about what you were working on or were interested in. The conversation was lively; your friends probably enjoyed seeing that sparkle in your eyes, and you felt great sharing something new. Creators’ presentations are a lot like that: casual and fun. The core problem occurs when your friends become audience members, and those audience members are looking for proof points in order to believe you’re a credible presenter.

Ideal Creators don’t just follow their internal blueprint. They are sophisticated enough to know that other preparatory work needs to be done in order to build the right foundation. Let’s take a more in-depth look at exactly what we mean.

HOW YOU SCORED

So how did you score the Creator? These results were calculated using our four-quadrant algorithm in which anything on the outside corner of the specific quadrant is considered high and anything near the main intersection is considered mid-low (Figure 6.1). Here is a simple rundown of your placement in each quadrant and how we arrived at your profile:

Figure 6.1 The Creator

EXPLORATION

Creators like you score in the mid- to low range of this quadrant. It’s not because you’re lazy or don’t care about prep work. Sometimes excitement takes over, and you don’t want to risk overthinking your message or spending too much time fussing with the details when you know that as a whole, your presentation is going to rock. Creators often don’t use a magnifying glass to review the content and design of their deck, and they don’t enjoy or practice out-loud rehearsals if they can help it. We don’t want to shake our fingers at you, but really, this quadrant could use some work.

SHARING

Now here is a quadrant where Creators sparkle. Your time onstage is enhanced by your own natural energy. As if you were a flower opening up to a bright day, an audience brings out your best qualities. Unlike many different presenter personalities, you can transform your nervousness into energy and inspire your audience. From moving around the stage and using well-timed gestures to incorporating storytelling effortlessly to enhance your message, you own this quadrant.

RESPONSE

This is another area of weakness for Creators, who score in the mid- to low range. A lot of this comes down to post-delivery discussion, where you may feel uncomfortable with group input, question-and-answer sessions, or other interactive activities. You scored in the low range also because you aren’t entirely sure how well your message was received, even after a vibrant delivery. Our best advice is to know your audience’s needs and concerns before you walk into the room, which is accomplished in the research phase of Exploration. This way, you’ll be more prepared to accommodate their preferences, and you will be able to deliver a talk that makes them stand up and slow clap.

DURABILITY

Durability is no concern for a Creator; your messages are built to last, and you usually share these messages through a platform (such as a newsletter, website, or podcast) that you have created or plan to create. You prefer long-term messages that equate to long-term change. Even if you’re not the one delivering the talk, you hope that your message will spread beyond your soapbox. This is reflected in your score, which is in the highest range of this quadrant.

SPOTTING A CREATOR IN THE WILD

Now that you know a little bit more about the Creator, let’s dive into an example so you can get an idea of your own style in action. Meet Jeff, the head of marketing at a design firm called Upsilon that creates web advertisements. He is a beloved leader, with an office filled with toys and a weekly newsletter loaded with puns and gifs that he sends to the entire office.

Jeff has recently discovered brand-new software that would make creating banner ads faster and more efficient for the design team. Even though he deals with marketing for the company, he is hugely invested in the company’s productivity and happiness. This new software has set off a lightbulb in his head that blinks: “Eureka!”

The problem is that his entire firm would need to be trained in how to use this new software, which would take time away from the designers’ busy schedules, which will make it much harder for Jeff to persuade the management team that the training is a good idea.

Because he is a Creator, he knows this software is a fantastic idea. He knows wholeheartedly that the entire company will save time in the long run, and he wants to do everything in his power to make this great thing happen. Jeff calls a meeting with the CEO, the entire management team, and anyone else who will listen. He’s prepared a short presentation, and he is ready to pitch the design software in a brief 15-minute speech.

Jeff delivers a high-energy, convincing pitch. He waves his arms around and points at a clock to indicate how much time they are wasting with the old software versus the amount of time needed for training. His team members enjoy the pitch and personally commit to searching for more information after the talk to verify some of his key points.

But Jeff could have done better. He has a hard time answering direct questions after his talk, mostly because he didn’t spend enough time researching the technical aspects of the software. His slides were thrown together an hour before the meeting, and they didn’t include the kind of data that would convince someone like the CFO. And finally, many of his coworkers are doubting his credibility in design because his skills are rooted in marketing. It is clearly evident that he didn’t put in the research to appeal to an audience that is primarily design driven.

Creators like Jeff deliver presentations every day that are fun to watch and are fueled by strong passion but don’t achieve their ideal goals. With just a little more work, Jeff could have surprised his teammates with thoughtful research and the right amount of data as a form of proof. He could have prepared properly for questions and ensured that he appeared credible in front of his audience. Creators have the drive; they just need to lock down those pesky details.

YOUR NATURAL HABITAT

The audience size and venue take a backseat to the excitement you have for your message: you’re comfortable in front of anyone who is willing to listen. This offers you a large advantage when it comes to presenting because you are driven by your message rather than your ego alone, and you are not afraid of talking about something you believe in passionately.

Fearless personalities driven by purpose can move mountains, especially when there is a big crowd giving them natural energy or a rush. And since you often neglect to include Q&A sessions and activities during your talk, speaking in front of a large crowd may prevent the possibility of a discussion. You feel best when you can deliver a message, make a good impression, and mic drop before walking off the stage.

BRAWN (STRENGTHS)

Entrepreneurial

Creative

Futuristic

Creativity is a keen strength to have in the business world, and you have it in spades. Your ability to generate new ideas and focus on a long-term vision makes you an entrepreneurial figure, with the passion and persistence to back it up. Learning how to sell these golden nugget ideas is crucial: don’t let all of that inventiveness go to waste!

Most audiences love to hear statements that reinforce their own beliefs or encourage them to think that they are on the right path. Making your audience experience that special warm-inside feeling is a specialty of yours. Creators easily convey that they have their audience’s best interests at heart, whether now or in the future. It’s a big reason you scored so highly in the Sharing quadrant.

TRAPS (WEAKNESSES)

Brazen

Reckless

Chaotic

Sometimes being focused on the big picture can cause you to lose sight of important details. This lack of specificity can be evident in your speech and in the core plan of your presented idea, which may make it appear haphazard. Because creative lightning tends to strike often and at random, you may also fall victim to choosing the wrong audience or to presenting your information at the wrong time.

As in the tale of Jeff, a lack of preparation can also diminish your credibility. Sometimes people want to see more facts than flash, and your style tends to lean toward the flashy. The best option would be to sprinkle in a little something for everyone in your audience, venturing outside of your comfort zone by adding an extra hour or two of research time in Exploration.

YOUR NATURAL ALLY

Want to learn how to strengthen your Response and Exploration? Connect with Navigators (Chapter 12)! You provide a balance to their weaknesses, and vice versa.

YOUR PREY

Other Creator types will eat your ideas up; they too love to see innovative concepts presented by an inspired and inspiring inventor. As a bonus, these audience members will tend to ask fewer questions, will require less evidence, and probably won’t need to see a detailed road map.

YOUR PREDATORS

Audience members who want to see the blueprints behind your creative ideas will tend to be your biggest challenge. Experienced investors and venture capitalists (VCs), as well as detailed-oriented left-brain people, will not be impressed by energy alone. It’s important that you cater your message to your predators by including tangible information: market size, timelines, strategies, and proven statistics are all great ways to enhance your message.

FIVE DOS AND DON’TS

DOS

1.   Write down the big-picture idea behind your presentation and then support this premise with two to five facts. Edit these facts down to the most essential, trustworthy pieces of information and include them in your outline.

2.   Make sure your big idea is grounded in something the audience can relate to in the moment. Enable them to connect your creation with what they encounter day to day.

3.   Organize your speech as follows: write down all the main points you want to share on sticky notes and then use a flat surface to develop the flow from start to finish. This easy way to create a storyboard should help your speech make logical sense.

4.   Be sure your presentation has a call to action that your audience can accomplish in the future or near future. Otherwise, your audience will have heard an interesting idea that they will have forgotten about a week later.

5.   Allow for a Q&A session after your talk to alleviate any disbelief the audience may have. A successful Q&A will boost your authority in your field.

DON’TS

1.   Don’t ditch crucial fact-checking preparation time before your speech. Your idea may be strong, but your research needs to be stronger.

2.   Use your creative juices to create presentation materials that are as outside the box as you are. Utilize innovative design and fresh content for handouts, slides, buttons, bumper stickers—anything that will help spread the word about your message.

3.   Don’t forget to include a road map that shows an overall plan for your fresh idea from start to finish. This will assure your audience that you know where you’re going.

4.   Don’t neglect to practice in a feedback-rich environment in front of at least one critical left-brained person you can trust. He or she can help ensure that you don’t come across as too high level or abstract for your audience.

5.   When you are ready to debut your speech, don’t send out invitations en masse. Be sure to populate your audience with like-minded people open to new ideas. They will lend an overall atmosphere of support to your delivery.

THE IDEAL CREATOR

There is no such thing as a bad persona. There are only areas to improve on within your range of strengths and weaknesses. With that in mind, what do ideal Creators look like?

1.   They invest a significant amount of time researching their message, acknowledging that they have a tendency to share without becoming familiar with each angle.

2.   They come equipped to each presentation with the capability to answer any questions that they may face.

3.   They engage with their audience offstage, ensuring that they come across as the most knowledgeable and credible speaker on their particular topic.

What about Jeff, our enthusiastic head of marketing? If he put in the work to become an ideal Creator, his story might look like this:

1.   Jeff becomes familiar with the designers’ needs, and he is able to illustrate clearly how the new software could help their productivity.

2.   Jeff eliminates audience doubt by filling each slide with supporting data that he’s worked hard to find.

3.   Because his coworkers already know that Jeff cares about the company itself, they are impressed by his thoughtful initiative, and they are ready to take the next step rather than just promising to look into the software themselves later.

Creators in every industry inspire the world with great ideas and innovative processes that people don’t even realize need an update. Their tendency toward action can achieve much while other personalities procrastinate. With just a little more thoughtful preparation in their Exploration work and a greater openness to discuss difficult questions and customize their message to a specific audience, Creators can take over the world. Don’t be afraid to let that god complex shine, Creators.