In his October 26, 2017 blog post Seth Godin talked about three types of work:
- Important
- Popular
- Viral
He described them this way:
“Important work is easily dismissed by the audience. It involves change and risk and thought.”
“Popular work resonates with the people who already like what you do.”
“Viral work is what happens when the audience can’t stop talking about what you did.”
He went on to say, “Every once in awhile, all three things will co-exist, but odds are, you’re going to need to choose.”
I believe our mission as trainers and educators is to focus on Important Work.
If you make the Important Work engaging, relevant and help audiences understand why it is important to them and will benefit them, you will have the greatest chance of the Important Work becoming Popular Work.
If it becomes Popular Work and you continue to pay attention to the feedback and put in the effort to enhance and refine both the message and the delivery of the message it may just become viral.
Be cautious. It is too easy to get drawn into trying to do Viral Work right from the start. If you start off trying to do Viral Work you might find yourself sacrificing the Important Work just so it goes viral.
Important work is what changes the profession and saves lives and careers. Important Work can be frustrating because at times it seems like no one is paying attention. Stay the course. It is too important to get distracted by the lure of viral.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Dedicated to helping good trainers become great trainers and great trainers to deliver awesome training.
Helping you on your journey to become a great trainer. – The Excellence in Training Academy – Where trainers come to grow. Join the Community of trainers committed to the pursuit of excellence in and through training. Use the code eitblog to get the first month free.
Interested in hosting an Excellence in Training Presentation, Seminar or Course? Contact to me at winningmind@mac.com and we can work together to determine what will best suit your needs.