Moving into greater authority?
To gain greater authority in a field of expertise you find yourself leaning more into your strengths.
The market is too competitive for you to play every instrument in the orchestra.
If you haven’t yet taken the journey you may be wondering how to niche down without stripping yourself of valuable clients, and without losing your best ideas.
An example of specialisation
First, niching is simply specialisation, or becoming an expert in a particular subject or field.
Take accountants, for example.
Accountants can specialise in assurance, commercial finance, corporate finance, corporate treasury, Financial accounting, forensic accounting, insolvency, Internal audit, management accounting, risk assessment, tax, forensic accounting, environmental accounting, personal financial planning, auditing, information technology, and sports accounting.
But surely the list goes on. What if we looked at specialties through the lens of client segments?
There’s accountancy for Generation Z, otherwise known as the prudent generation, who (it appears) will have to be much better planners to be financially successful than Gen X or the Boomers. At the other end of the scale, there’s the kind of accountancy that shepherds an ageing couple toward retirement.
Then, what if we blended some of the specialties from the two lists above? Somewhere in the world there would be an accountant who specialises in shepherding the finances of former sports professionals. Somewhere, there would be an accountant specialising in providing advice to the next generation of IT entrepreneurs.
I’m not saying an accountant can look at these lists and just pick a specialty (although, you may be able to target an area and work toward making it a niche).
You have to bring proof points to claim it as a speciality. You need a track record.
Your ideal client provide clarity
You’ll hear this phrase “ideal client”, which basically just means narrowing down your view of your customers to those valuable clients you want more of.
You don’t have to discard the other customers (although you might). It just means you clarify your vision and focus on those clients who are most valuable. This set of ideal clients demand more of your thoughtfulness.
Clarity comes before creativity.
Generalisation has its benefits
A diverse team working across a broader range of expertise has the potential for creative breakthrough.
As the Harvard Business Review posed the question:
“What’s the best way to boost creativity on your team? One view is that the key to creative breakthroughs is being able to combine or leverage different areas of expertise. This suggests you should encourage employees to explore new fields or hire more generalists — they can connect dots where others don’t see a link.”
I don’t see niching as a threat to creativity or ‘wow’ ideas. In fact, I think finding a niche encourages breakthrough thinking.
My view is that:
Different skills and personalities used in a specialised field birth creativity. We can recruit for defined skill sets, but seek to diversify the personalities we work with. Some are optimists and others pessimists. Some are futurists and others traditionalists. This conflict of views provides an environment for creativity.
Tighter boundaries increase creativity. Some of the most famous novelists in history had disciplined writing schedules (Stephen King for example). Some of the greatest artworks of all time were produced to clear deadlines.
“Giorgio Vasari, the OG of art history, wrote in his book The Lives of The Artists that when Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Pope Julius II came and asked him when he planned to complete the job. Michelangelo answered, “when it satisfies me in its artistic details.” But the pope wasn’t having it and replied, “And we want you to satisfy us in our desire to see it done quickly.” He then threatened to throw Michelangelo from the scaffolding if he didn’t work faster. Michelangelo wasn’t thrilled but he had to get the job done. And twenty months after this encounter with the pope, the Sistine Chapel was finished and unveiled in 1512 during the All Saints Day mass. Besides Michelangelo’s undeniable talent and enormous creativity, this deadline and the pope’s threats served humanity, because there is nothing in the world like the Sistine Chapel.”
As my consultancy has matured, I have shortened the timeframes in which I work with clients. We work together in short bursts and the outcomes are much better than if we plodded along for eight months. To work quickly is to create with focus and allow your associative memory to create wonderful ideas. To plod along is to make yourself vulnerable to distraction, fears and second-guessing your instinct and it impacts your profit!
A virtuous cycle: Clarity + creativity = breakthrough
The clarity of identifying who you most want to serve provides a tighter boundary for your creativity to flourish. This creativity helps you serve them, and so you deepen your relationship.
It’s a virtuous cycle.
Example
Take my story for an example.
Moved by design was a ‘general’ branding agency. When I was in conversation with people they’d then state ‘ohhh you mean logos and websites…’ which I’d then go into a long an exhaustive speel defining what a brand was and wasn’t.
Now I have two offerings (still not ideal)
I help big organisations communicate their vision and values with internal teams through better training materials - Moved by Design
I help emerging thought leaders clarify their message and dominate their field - ask Jason Knight
With these two statements alone I think you can tell that niching is worth it!
If you’ve got questions, then please, Ask Jason Knight
Grow from ‘meh’ to MAGNETIC
Align your expertise with your customer’s needs to become a world-class brand
Become your industry’s go-to expert. Join the expert consultants who have repositioned their brand, clarified their message and attracted high-value clients with an irresistible offer and a magnetic brand all within a month. HOW? Ask Jason Knight or schedule a 15 minute call to talk through any questions.
