The Value Blueprint is a weekly newsletter for people in business, non-profits, and creative ventures looking to make sense of creating and leveraging on Value for success. For engaging and practical breakdowns of Value creation tools every Tuesday, sign up here:
Vivre Consulting and I have an extra special launch happening on 02 April 2025!
And as a reader of The Value Blueprint, you’re hearing about what we’re launching before everyone else! ✨
Picture this: you’re me, and it’s December 2024.
You just made some exquisite plans for Q1 2025:
putting out a comprehensive Value creation resource for enterprises
setting up retainer services (and getting retainer clients)
and some veryyy sexy revenue targets.
Now blink ONCE.
It’s nearing the end of Q1 2025.
You have not yet set up the retainer services, (more on that in another edition!)
you’ve not (yet!) hit those illusive revenue targets (this too, in another edition!)
BUT! You’ve made your comprehensive resource on Value creation!
Well. It took you AGES but it’s finished now! (and holy hell, was it a FIGHT to finish!)
And with that banger of an opener, let me tell you all about it, and the journey-to-Mordor-I-mean lesson I drew from it.
“I’m tired of this, grandpa!”
The idea for this resource actually sprouted up quite a long while back, bolstered by the realization that as much as we all talk about creating Value, the tools and techniques that enterprises needed to give them that strong start to make Value creation happen were desperately few and far between.
So using the insights I had, the knowledge of where businesses, non-profits and creative ventures tended to slip up with Value creation, and the understanding that many enterprises were just starting out in their Value creation journey, Vivre and I created the Value Creation Toolkit.
Getting started with the toolkit was a delightful challenge: the sheer amount of creativity flowing out onto my laptop, phone, 3 different notepads and the 10 beta testers (thank you guys so much!) was absolutely heroic!
But as with all things worthwhile, the final steps started to drag. It felt like I had been working on the final touches for ages.
Minor details became major stop-gaps:
“Would this section be clear enough for someone unfamiliar with the topic?”
“Was the design clean enough to not overwhelm the user?”
“Did I remember to include everything I needed to, or had I missed something crucial?”
Each edit, each tweak, felt like a loop I couldn’t escape. And the pressure to get it perfect? Nightmarish!
So there I was: stuck, staring at my project and questioning my next move.
Epiphany o’clock
I realized I was hitting a wall and no amount of pushing through was going to make the toolkit any better. It was time for a short break.
Not just from the toolkit, but from EVERYTHING content creation. The creativity center had to be closed for a little while.
As it turns out this was exactly what I needed! I got to reset, let my mind rest and to approach the toolkit with fresh eyes.
I came back to the project with a clearer perspective. I was able to spot the missing pieces I had overlooked and fix the issues that had been frustrating me. In the end, I was able to finish the toolkit in a way that felt good, really good!
At the enn’a tha day:
Ya know, there’s a quote for this.
Does it fit neatly? It will when I’m done with it!
You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.
As enterprise leaders of every stripe, it’s stupendously easy to get caught flatfooted in the belief that working non-stop will lead to success. The persistence fallacy, I like to call it.
“I just need to keep hammering at this thing and something will come out.”
Yeah, and that’ll work sometimes, but like Whitney Houston said: “some. times.”
Truth of the matter is there’s simply no sustainable success without balance.
That balance often comes from the courage (oohhh! mmhhh cue the finger-snaps) to step back, recharge, and give yourself permission to not be in constant motion (yeah yeah, I heard you groaning at your screen, I struggle with this too so I understand).
So if you’re working on something important that requires your complete effort, remember that taking a break isn’t a sign of failure or procrastination. Sometimes, it’s exactly what you need to finish strong.
(PS: procrastination is its own thing, trust yourself to know the difference.)
Stepping back to step forward, yeah?
The toolkit’s going live on Thursday 03 April 2025 and will be available for purchase on the Vivre Consulting website, and I couldn’t be prouder of the work.
But more than the end result, it’s the lesson that truly sticks with me:
Struggles are part of the process, and rest gives you essential reroutes for success.
Like my work? You can get more of it!
Listen to my podcast, Inside Value, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube
(be sure to subscribe!)Book me to speak or host a workshop at your event, company or organization
Check out our Value creation work and tools over at Vivre Consulting
Connect with me on LinkedIn!