I remember the first time I saw the line item “goodwill” appear on an entrepreneur's balance sheet. It made me stop, scratch my head and think, now how can you possibly attach a value to that? It turns out, of course, that you can apply measurements to an intangible asset like this, but I didn't know that at the time. I've gone back to that moment mentally more than once, wondering about other critical aspects of my business that I rely on which might seem to defy a monetary value. And one stood out above all others: Passion.
Passion, to my way of thinking, is that inspiration that's both infectious and unmistakable. It generates the kind of genuine happiness that you see in the way someone's eyes seem to glow when they talk about their business – not unlike the way some parents exude happiness when they talk about their children. It's simply impossible to fake. It's also a spare tank of fuel that can allow you to push beyond the point of normal endurance. It's like an entrepreneurs equivalent of a runner's high or some other natural boost.
Like any temporary boost though, it has it's price and it's downsides. And as with any other asset of your business, it has to be managed appropriately, otherwise it can quickly become a drain on both monetary and temporal resources.
While it may not be able to pin down an exact dollar amount or equation for evaluating Passion, I think it can still be examined as competitive edge and a true business asset. I've explore the role passion plays in just a few examples below:
Passion and Creativity
This could easily be an entire piece on its own, but I just want to scratch the surface here. As an artist and someone in the art business, I've learned that what a client is often seeking when they are shopping for art is none other than the artists' passion made manifest. I continue to be surprised by the artworks my clients and friends are most moved by, and it's often not the happier, brighter pieces. In my own case it's been pieces like “Angels of the Silences,” “Shades of Regret” and “The Barker” that tend to pique peoples interest. (Note: I always qualify any conversation regarding my own work by stating that I am certainly the weakest of the artists I represent). All of these artworks have something in common beyond just being some of my darker work – they sprang from some of my most emotionally turbulent times and viewers tend to pick up on that. I asked one client why he was drawn to a particularly dark piece and he replied, “when I want a great piece of art, I look for something that makes me feel something important to feel, which is not always happiness. I want the blood, sweat and tears.” What he wants, in short, is the passion of the artist.
Passion and Networking
Sometimes it's easy to spot the inspired, passionate entrepreneur in a networking group. Maybe she's the one talking a mile a minute, gesticulating madly before, with an ear to ear grin, she delves back into the land of ideas. Even though you may wonder for a moment is she will start speaking in tongues, you find yourself listening to what she's saying anyway. And what she says tells a story that you connect with. It fires you up and opens new vistas of possibilities – new services, improvements to vendor relations, innovative potential collaborations... And before you know it, you're being ushered out of the event, which ended an hour ago. That's entrepreneurial passion and it has the power to transfix. These people stand out in a crowd and inspire you not only to broaden and challenge your thinking, but more specifically, to do business with them. In the world of networking where everyone sometimes seems to be marketing everything, passion is sometimes the differentiator.
A great example of this is in my opinion is someone like Jonny Imerman, Founder of Imerman Angels. As a cancer survivor he has discovered his personal mission of connecting other cancer survivors around the globe so that no one has to face there experience alone. His passion for what he does informs all aspects of his business and makes it impossible not to share his excitement and enthusiasm. He is always upbeat and even if you just exchange three words with him, he's one of those people with the uncanny ability to make you feel like you just spent half a day making meaningful conversation.
Passion and Sales
As with the above, there have been a number of meetings with property managers, developers and others, where I see the effect of passion. When I show up to the meeting, I own the idea I'm bringing with me, but by the time I leave, the people I've been talking with own the idea and want to run with it. I can think of one example in particular where I went to meet with a large real estate developer and talked about collaborative opportunities with their senior team. I could tell when my associate and I sat down that this would be a tough crowd, so I decided not to go slide by slide through the presentation I had prepared. Rather, I wanted to engage them, so I asked each of them to name three things they wanted me to talk about and I would focus on those. If I recall correctly, delivery, cost savings and marketing value were the big three items, so I started with the cost savings. As I went through real, tangible savings I could generate for them by leasing artwork versus purchasing it, I felt them start to thaw. By the time I got to delivery and showing examples of our reliability, they were lukewarm. It was marketing value that really won the day and I could see their eyes starting to light up. They started asking questions and putting fort their own ideas and suggestions. I don't think I ever finished all the points I wanted to hit, but it didn't really matter. We easily ate through the half hour I had allotted for questions and could have gone on longer. They wanted to start drafting up plans and time lines right away. By the time I left their office, they had a list of deliverables that they had set for themselves and they fully owned the idea, wanting to share their idea with the entire global organization. It was a spectacular experience and a great example of how passion and sales can align to generate business. By catering your presentation to your clients and engaging them, you can make your passion an asset and turn potential clients and prospects into fans and advocates.
Passion and Execution
It's one thing to be passionate about all the ideas and opportunities on a call or at a meeting, but when it comes to delivery, it's easy to drop the ball. I do a few things to ensure that I remain as passionate about delivering and executing as I do about marketing. For me, one of the greatest feelings that comes with this job I've invented is taking pictures of the final result – a home, office or lobby with truly unique and suitable artwork on the walls. No matter how large or small a project, I look at each individual scenario to be the best one yet in terms of aesthetic results and client satisfaction. I also create case studies out of every project and try to follow up regularly not only for client quotes and testimonials, but to make sure that the ongoing satisfaction is as high as possible and that any potential issues are addressed rapidly and in a manner that keeps clients excited about what we are doing. Going into my business, I expected to have a renewal rate for leased artwork of roughly 50% at best. Going into our third year now, retention is higher than 90%. I attribute this largely for the passion that goes into execution and delivery.
Passion and Fortitude
Endurance, pushed to its utmost extreme, at some point simply gives out. You hit a point where you can go no further. Maybe you've knocked on 50 doors, make 150 calls and have two networking events to get to yet that day, and you simply don't feel like you can keep up the pace. Especially if it's been that way for weeks, or months. Or years. So what is it that allows you to take a 20 minute power nap, visit the events and then follow up with the people you met before you finally collapse for the night? I believe it's passion. At HotJobs, I remember one of the many quotes that Richard Johnson would use, that the superstars are the ones who go out every day and give 100%, on the days when they didn't even feel like getting out of bed. Passion can carry you through the final lap when every fiber of your being is crying out that you've had enough.
Now, maybe there are some people who are simply built with an extra cylinder and don't tire or need to sleep and eat and relax like the rest of us. I am certainly not one of these and I rely heavily on the passion for what I am doing and the commitments I have made to my clients and artists, which gives me the energy to go the extra mile. I don't always make it, but I know that I could not put in the hours and energy that I do unless I was a true believer. I would have been eaten alive by my fears and doubts and slunk back to an office job with my tail between my legs. Passion has kept me going through some of the darkest moments along the journey so far.It can be detrimental to sustain that kind of pace, so knowing your own limits is important, but that said, as a drum of backup fuel there is, in my estimation, simply no substitute for passion.
Do You Control Your Passion or Does Your Passion Control You?
I started to talk about this in the previous section and I think it's important to explore the perils of passion as well as the benefits. I come from a long line of extreme workaholics, so maybe there is a genetic predisposition to it – which makes it all the more important to be cognizant of. At three thirty am on a Tuesday night, virtually everyone I know, including my loving and supportive fiancée, is fast asleep, but it's not uncommon for me to sending out emails I didn't get to or trying to make connections among people I met. While passion is the fuel that keeps my personal army marching, I also have to make sure that to step back and remember that even if I'm a living marketing piece for my business, it shouldn't consume my life. It's hard for me to separate the two sometimes but I know that it's not just healthy but imperative to take a personal day from time to time and spend it with friends, with family, outdoors, away from the phone and computer. Life is bigger than what I do, and if I don't take time to remember that, all aspects of my life suffer for it. I'm not saying that I'm any great master at maintaining balance, yet, but I'm striving to get better at it all the time.
Passion and Well Being
If passion is an asset, than it requires proper maintenance. A well managed asset can provide tremendous benefits, but a poorly managed asset can eat time, money and overall physical and mental well-being. When passion burns out, like the fuel that it is, it can leave you more exhausted than before. If relied on for too long, like an adrenaline boosting drug, it can impair and cloud your judgment, make you moody and fickle and end up driving away more business than helps create. As a creative type, almost without exception my best creative “breakthroughs” seem to come between the hours of 2 and 4 am, but I know that if I indulge these too often, I'll end up grumpy in the morning and less than worthless on the phone and at client meetings. So I have to determine when it's appropriate to burn the midnight oil and when it's more valuable to get a solid night sleep. There was a time in my college years when I could pull all-nighters every couple days. More than ten years later, that's just not an option anymore if I want to function more like a human being than the walking dead for a day or two afterwards. Prolonged intensity can mean more than insomnia – it can lead to more serious health concerns. There is sometimes a fine line between passion and mania, but recognizing the difference is crucial.
To quickly sum up my thinking, passion is a complex force, but like the “goodwill” I mentioned at the start of this short piece, it can be an asset if managed properly. It can help inspire clients, prospects and employees, help close a sale and add something unique and powerful to your marketing. If left unchecked though, it can wear you down and become a detriment to your business and well being. As I stated before, I certainly haven't mastered the potential of passion, but I strive not to let it master me, and to remember that as much as I could devote 110% of my time and energy to Chicago Art Leasing, there are other important people and things in my life that require and deserve my attention, focus and passion.
