Chris Brogan is the owner of Human Business Works and I receive his weekly newsletter. His writing is entertaining and I always learn something new. Chris’s second book with Julien Smith, The Impact Equation (paid link), comes out today. I received an advance copy and was asked to review it.

The book is about how to make sure your business or work is having an impact. Are you making things happen or just making noise?

While I don’t normally write about business on this blog, I believe that the principles in this book can be applied to our lives in general. Once our basic survival needs are met, most of us want to make a difference in the world, to have an impact, whether on the people in our lives or on a larger scale.

Right at the outset, the authors make it known that this is not a book about how to use social networks to create impact.

It’s about getting a larger audience to see and act upon your ideas.

It’s about building a community around that experience.

It’s about going to a higher level.

It’s the people who matter, not what social networks you use.

The Impact Equation is divided into four guiding principles – having clear goals, articulating ideas, building a platform, and adding the human element. Each section is packed full of examples and ideas.

Clear Goals

Your goals may have to do with producing and selling a certain product or service or to make a certain amount of money. But, the larger goal is about your unique contribution and how it belongs in the world. Your goals are what you stand for.

Articulate Ideas

The authors say that the shape of an idea matters. The best idea spreaders spend time designing their ideas so that they will resonate. The authors go into detail about how to have better ideas, how to have more ideas, and how to evaluate and articulate them.

Good ideas are sticky, spreadable, and interesting. Clarifying ideas is making people care not because they’ve never seen it before but because it sticks in their head instantly.

It takes more than being on social networks to spread ideas. Social networks are social for a reason. They are not there to blast out your ideas. Their real value is in being able to listen and have conversations. This is how you build your platform.

Building a Platform

A platform is a tool for reaching others and communicating your ideas. The authors liken it to having your own transmitter, newspaper, or TV station.

TED videos are an example of a great platform. A platform is based on great content and collaboration. A platform provides reach.

You might have a great idea but without a platform your idea won’t go anywhere. And, the authors provide suggestions for how to gain more exposure and expand your reach.

Ideas without reach are like plants without sunlight. Like all living things, ideas thrive on reach.

Adding the Human Element

To me, the human element is the most important part. It is about building trust and credibility, one of the most important assets in the 21st century world. Trust has to do with how you make people feel. It’s about being reliable and relatable.

First, you need to build a community, not an audience. Your community maintains an ongoing interaction with you and you nurture that community. Trust is eroded when there is too much self-interest. High trust allows your ideas to spread much quicker.

Three major take aways from The Impact Equation

1. Take calculated leaps.

We all reach plateaus in business and in life. At these points, it’s time for a calculated leap outside of our comfort zones. Calculated leaps for me would include contributing guest posts on other platforms, creating collaborations with my peers, or doing a project to build community.

In life, we can take calculated leaps too when we find ourselves in a rut or at a plateau – being more vulnerable in our intimate relationships, trying something new, following through on a dream, or sharing publicly about something we stand for.

2. Build community and trust.

I have slowly been building a community of readers but there is much more I could be doing and this book gave me ideas.

Recently, I posted a picture on my blog and asked readers to write a Haiku about the image. I was amazed and thrilled at the thoughtful responses. This is one way to have a conversation and build community.

3. Articulate ideas simply.

The most important lesson here is to simplify. There is an excellent exercise in the book where we were to answer a series of questions using no more than twenty words of no more than two syllables. People have information thrown at them left and right, so explaining your idea in a simple way will go a long way towards getting it heard.

Your words serve the idea. That’s all.

Ideas don’t have to be new, but their expression should be. For me, images and haiku poems might be the best way to articulate what it means to live a contemplative life.

In life, do our actions serve our overall mission? Simplify by cutting out what doesn’t serve.

Chris Brogan
Julien Smith
The Impact Equation