Truth. Growth. Repeat.

Chapter 13 exercise a: eulogy

Over the years I’ve come across many variations of workshop exercises that help you zoom out from your own life and see yourself and your business in the big picture. They’re often hypothetical situations aimed at opening your mind, such as asking you to imagine travelling to Mars to start a colony and thinking about which inspirational public figures you would take with you (everyone says Elon Musk).

The first three exercises are described by David Taylor in his books The Brand Gym and Brand Vision. His aim is to help companies find their core brand meaning, but I found that with some tweaking, these exercises are also effective at starting to surface an authentic organisational purpose.

Okay, let’s go. Smartphone off. Imagination on.

In Eulogy, I want you to pretend that your business has passed away. It’s figuratively dead and is about to be farewelled with a formal funeral service. I want you to imagine you’re standing in the chapel as the guests file in the door. Think about that scene and visualise it in your mind.

This hypothetical situation is a terrific way to start surfacing your True Purpose. And it will work for you even if you haven’t started that awesome new business you have in mind. It just takes a little more imagination. All you need to do is pretend that this funeral is happening 10 years in the future, after your new company has launched and become a success. Imagine your business idea has worked out exactly the way you hoped ...