Surprising Rainbows

Last night I attended a spectacular rooftop 50th birthday party here in Chicago. Upon entering, I gazed upon one of the most amazing rainbows I’ve ever seen or felt. What a lovely surprise! Naturally, it reminded me of some powerful business concepts. What benefits for your career and life can be found in a rainbow?

Rainbows

Rainbows are an interesting phenomenon. Their origin tends to be clouds, a downpour, darkness and a feeling of despair: "Oh my, will this rain ever end?" Sometimes the rain miraculously ends quickly, and the floating condensed vapor begins to part and let the sun in. If you can feel the sun behind you and the rain droplets in front of you, the way sunlight refracts in each water droplet will break the light apart as if in a prism, revealing the true nature of sunlight - it is actually made up of all colors.

To see a rainbow and thereby what sunlight is truly made of takes timing (after a rainfall), positioning (the sun behind you and water droplets in front of you), and refraction (water bending light for you). Incredible! If it didn't happen naturally, few would think it possible. Well, how can this apply to business and life?

Primary Reflections

First, acknowledge that mostly you tend to forget sunlight is made up of all colors. Hmm. Perhaps your business is made up of all constituents and you aren't present to them. If so, how could you reposition yourself to see all your constituents clearly, as if through a prism you create? As creatures of habit we tend to emphasize some areas of our business, like the parts we must do that we enjoy doing, while neglecting what's equally necessary but not inspiring to us. How can you break free from those habits and see the full spectrum of your business? One idea is to intentionally operate as someone you admire in business and start doing what you think they would do in various situations. Another idea is to hire someone who is inspired by doing things that don't move you to action and have them share what they see. Lastly, engage newly in some way - work in a client's office for a day if you can or conduct a survey of your customers - to expand your view and to start to see more of the hues of your business.

Next, take on running your business (and your life, for that matter) from the view that there is a beautiful rainbow awaiting you after every rainy experience. It is just too easy to get down about a missed sale, a meeting that doesn't go as planned, some failure to execute, or a 5-minute task that somehow ends up taking an hour you really didn't have. Guess what? That rain on your work parade is a necessary ingredient for your rainbow. You just have to position yourself appropriately and generate your own sunlight to see it. How do you do that? You show up to everything with an attitude that great things are going to happen, including delights and surprises you didn't expect or know were possible. This takes living true to your mission, accepting where your business is at, checking in with your attitude, and being open to possibilities that enliven you. In other words, you are the heavenly surprise your customers, clients, service providers, vendors, and investors look forward to working with no matter the challenge at hand. Now when it rains - and it will rain, don't resist it - you've got the sunlight you generate and you can reposition yourself with a new perspective and make a rainbow as the clouds part.

Lastly, business is details. The rainbow brings the details or distinctions of color to white light. Finer and finer pieces of light or wavelengths are exposed. Similarly in business, it is all about the finer and finer points. As an example, let's suppose you sell sinks for a living. Picture a sink in your mind. Any sink. Got it? Now, the details. Is it in the bathroom or kitchen? What's it made of - stainless steel, fireclay, or a granite composite? How big is it in inches? Is it a single bowl or a double bowl? What color is it - white, grey or something else? Is it rounded or square? How is it installed - top mount, undermount, wall mount? Is it on a pedestal? Does it have 1 or 3 holes for the faucet?

How's that simple sink you imagined looking to you now? The number of details to keep track of can give one a sinking feeling. Well, it is like that with everything. We could do the same thing with trees, fasteners, cryptocurrencies, and cannabis. Product knowledge details. Study them hard because details are the colors of business.

Embracing the Arc

How can you regularly acknowledge all aspects of your business? What model could you think from? What would it take for you to bring a positive attitude grounded in your mission while expecting wonderful results? Who could assist you with that? Where do you resist learning the details of your offerings? What's the source of that?

This array of insight is only useful upon reflection as you look up to your future. The curved path of business and life is wet and multicolored. Embrace the surprising arc of your business and life. You just may find your pot of gold.

No surprise, you knew I couldn't resist that detail at the end of the rainbow!

Here's to you and your awesome future.

Until then, keep your feet on the board and keep riding your wave!

Robert J. Khoury

CEO Agile Rainmakers