Ready, Set, Launch

There is a wonderful book I’ve been reading called Rocket Fuel, by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters. The book focuses on the unique and synergistic relationship between a visionary and an integrator in building a business. The Amazon blurb really sums it up much better than I can:

“Visionaries have groundbreaking ideas. Integrators make those ideas a reality. This explosive combination is the key to getting everything you want out of your business.”

When I took the self-assessment for both, I wasn't surprised when I scored 92 on visionary. Anything over 80 indicates that’s your strength. I was surprised, however, when I saw that I scored 70 on integrator, because integrating involves a lot of tenacity, which, as we’ve discussed in our blogs about Working Genius, is not my forte. But then I realized that entrepreneurs have to play all of those roles most of the time, so I’ve had plenty of opportunities to develop my tenacity—even when it drained every ounce of energy from me and left me feeling miserable.

In the book, it does address those unique individuals who are gifted at both, but at some point, their business becomes so large that they have to choose one or the other. If we were to tie this to Working Genius, I believe an integrator would have to have the working genius of Invention and Tenacity, and most likely a competency in Discernment. My working geniuses are Invention and Galvanizing—what Patrick Lencioni calls an Evangelizing Innovator. In practical language, that means I’m energized and fulfilled by thinking of new ideas and motivating others to get excited about them.

Because one of my working frustrations is Tenacity, I struggle with developing and implementing those ideas I come up with and get others excited about. That’s why I’m in the process of finding the Integrator to my Visionary. People around me are helping me find my WHO for that role.

I failed early on when I began trying to implement the EOS process by thinking that as the “visionary,” I didn’t need to be highly involved. As we went through the process, I had it in my mind that my team could fill the role of “integrator.” However, reading Rocket Fuel helped me understand the symbiotic relationship between those two roles, and how it isn’t really a “team” role. I was unintentionally handicapping my team by not identifying that WHO to fill the role.

When we discussed this together, we came to the conclusion that person doesn’t yet exist in our organization, so we are going to have to go out and find them! That’s exciting! I’m very proud of my team, though, because several people stepped up and volunteered when it became apparent that we were having trouble identifying the right person.

However, when we went through the discovery process of what this role needs, it became clear that it would do nothing but drain my volunteers and make them unhappy in their work. Three of the four people had Enablement as a working genius. An E can’t elevate and delegate like an integrator needs to do, because an E derives joy from helping others with what they’re doing, and being a team player.

The beautiful thing about knowing the Working Genius framework is that it is okay not to be every single thing!