Who has freedom?

I often get asked the question ‘If I become a Key Person of Influence, won’t that mean I get trapped in my business and I won’t be able to ever take a holiday, move abroad or sell my business?’

It seems logical that a person who has a profile and is seen to be the driving force of a business would be trapped in the business, but in practical terms nothing is further than the truth.

Key People of Influence have far more freedom for several reasons. Firstly, they attract talent. Highly skilled and talented people don’t want to work with just anyone; they want to work with KPIs.

When you position yourself as a KPI, you’ll start to see brilliant people who show up and make remarkable things happen. These people will be autonomous, value-focused people who start to grow your business in all directions whether you’re in the room or not.

Pretty soon you’ll have so much talent buzzing around your enterprise that there will seem to be a steady stream of savvy people always showing up. This is called ‘high performance culture’ and it’s a big asset, whether you want to sell your business one day or hand over the day-to-day management to a leader who’s better suited to the task than you yourself.

Secondly, people who are KPIs have created assets that deliver value when they aren’t even in the room. Richard Branson can be kitesurfing on the beach of his private island and still be having an impact on thousands of people worldwide. He does this through his clear message, his books and articles, his products and services, his profile and his partnerships. On your own scale, you’ll be doing this too as a KPI – even when you’re not in the room your presence is felt.

Thirdly, Key People of Influence attract investors, unlike worker bees. An investor wants to put their money behind the person who’s leading the way and going places.

A Key Person of Influence can show all the signs that they are worthy of receiving these funds. If there is an exit whereby someone wants to buy the whole company, there are still dozens of options on how you can transfer your brand value to the new owner.

The truth is, nothing is more restrictive than being average and ordinary. The worker-bees in any industry aren’t able to get traction or attraction for their ideas.

There’s no point trying to hide behind your business or website any more. Even if you do build a small business, the moment you try to compete with a KPI, they will snap up all your clients at speed. These days, systems are freely available, generic products can be copied and business brands seem to blend into the sea of sameness.

What really stands out is a story of a personality and a person who really cares. Hiding out is a recipe for going nowhere.

Being a Key Person of Influence will set you free.