Ep.50 – What’s Your Strategic Narrative? Guest Guillaume Wiatr.

@16:00 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Welcome to Leading with Curiosity, and tell us a little bit about what you mean by strategic narrative.

@16:53 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Ah, nice. Thank you so much for having me today. Thanks for the warm welcome. Strategic Narrative is the name of…

my methodology. So trademark methodology that I created over the years. think if I traced or the beginning is probably about 15 years ago.

And I had already started in Kufunded three companies and was seeing some recurring patterns and started reflecting on how someone like me could achieve the kind of outcomes or results, my desired future states in an easier and better way.

And I was interested at the time in the importance of storytelling in business. And for a long time, I did what most people do, most of us used the word story and narrative interchangeably.

Until one night, I was publishing, I am a pretty prolific publisher of in my email list and I do a lot of YouTube videos.

was publishing a blog and I thought, because which is not my first language, I should probably look into the difference between the story and a narrative in English.

And first of all, could not find really a difference until I reflected on this and found that a narrative is a system of stories.

A narrative is a way to look at things versus a story is more of a closed-ended unit that typically has a beginning and typically in Hollywood movies.

There is a beginning, there’s struggle, there’s a happy ending. A narrative is more of something that we co-construct also.

A narrative is enacted. We talk about the narrative about society, the narrative about the planet, the narrative about your community or city.

It turns out your business has a narrative and I’m a business consultant. So I started exploring the importance of narratives in business and decided that my whole methodology would be about creating better narratives for

organizations and for my clients. But as while most people think that it’s predominantly or maybe only marketing and communications outward facing exercise, I see this a lot differently.

Sure, it’s marketing and communication, but it’s much more holistic and deeper and deeper than this. In fact, in psychology, some therapists are trained in the practice of changing people’s inner narratives.

And I also do include this in my methodology. So why does this matter? Well, as an entrepreneur, we all have this idea of success.

If I ask you where you see yourself in a few years, I would guess that you would, and we can maybe do the test in the moment, I would guess you probably have an idea of what kind of life you want, kind of business you’re dreaming of, what kind of revenue and what clients and so on.

To get there, it can really be overwhelming. Right. There’s so many things you can do to get there, so many business practices.

And these days, especially with the rise of digital channels and social media, we get just bombarded with solicitations like, Oh, do this and you’ll get more, Oh, no, no, do that.

No, build that funnel work on yours. I mean, this is like the list is just endless. And what I find is that if you just take this, these, these solutions without a bit of it, of intentionally and honesty with yourself, you’re going to start building a narrative for your business that is not your own.

@20:38 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

It’s not an authentic one.

@20:40 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

And very soon, you’re going to get drained and exhausted and stressed and maybe end up broke. So, so the whole idea behind strategic narrative is to build that system of stories that is really yours, that is the most efficient, that brings the highest and and most.

most efficient performance is possible. So that you get to your goals.

@21:06 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Now, you and I, if I can just jump in because you and I have agreed to that I’m going to be a little vulnerable today, that we are going to use me as an example.

Selfishly, I’m going to learn I’m getting a consultation from Guillaume, but the listener is going to be able to take, take a theory and listen to it in practical examples.

And I have a feeling that there’s a deep connection here. To core values and division to what really matters to me and to not be pulled away by all those other distractions and ends up one day I look around and I’m doing something that I didn’t mean to do or that some other influence led me to do as a core business where this is about, this is from an inside-out process and it’s not one story, it’s a journey, it’s a connection of stories to get me from where I am now to where I want to be.

I reading your mail, you are.

@22:02 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Although you’re not on my email list because I know that. But you will be but no, you’re completely right.

It goes even further than that. I define a narrative as a combination of three things. And what you just alluded to is the language layer of an error.

It’s how we talk is the use of words, right? Which is the typical traditional to think about an narrative.

Hi, know, in any organization, we say, hey, let’s change our narrative. Most people assume, yeah, this is going to be a communication exercise where you have to hire a writer.

But a narrative is most importantly, what happens when no one has even said a word. It’s what is happening in your mind.

It’s your mindset. It’s your mindset. It’s how you see things. The narrative first of all starts inside you. So your mind speaks, your heart speaks, your whole body speaks, that the narrative first of all.

And then at the end of the process, there is a third layer. So I promised third layer. First one is language words, what we say, the stories we tell to our colleagues, clients, so on.

Second one was mindset, what happens inside. And the third one is what you do is your actions, right? It’s everything you do during your day.

even some of the tools you use, right? So right now we’re talking, I can see you on video, I see things in your background that signal a narrative to me.

So if you go to a doctor’s office, lawyer’s office, will probably go through a process that is very much the narrative of the expert.

You’re not in control. They are in charge because they are, they have deep and very specialized knowledge and expertise.

So you rely on that knowledge to follow the process and that’s the narrative of the expert is already there.

through the process without those experts even being in the room talking to you. So those three layers we’re going to talk about.

@24:07 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Right on. So, you know, as where I am in the coaching space, a leader, oh, thumbs down. YouTube showing us thumbs down.

Yeah. Where in the YouTube, sorry, in the coaching space, whereas I’m working on how people can be more effective in their role as a leader and get the highest impact in culture.

We’re really talking about strategy and narrative and strategic narrative for the listener here. And you’ve got a great quote.

People will pay for a story, but die for a narrative. Tell us about that.

@24:42 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

I observed that when we, in our society, know, we are, we’ll buy a story. We’ll go to a movie.

We’ll buy somebody’s book. will gladly listen to somebody who has a good story to tell. And And that story is a moment for us to reflect on who we are as a person.

@25:04 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Sometimes we see ourselves in that story.

@25:08 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

In narrative goes beyond and really touches your beliefs as you were saying earlier. And if you think about some of the system of stories and processes and mindset that formed those really, really dominant narrative in our society and in business, human beings have this ability to survive thanks to them, also die through them.

Right. So we will engage in wars and we will give our life because we believe certain things. And because these things are sometimes manufacturer orchestrated or constructed through narratives.

In fact, science shows us that it’s a theory, but probably the reason why our species is still going where there’s other species of

of sapiens, you know, I’m referring to the sapiens species, is because of our ability to form those narratives and believe in imaginary things that may happen or not.

And we are ready to form, to organize, and we’re also ready to die. That’s the big difference between a story and a narrative.

@26:22 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

So, a belief so strong in a future that hasn’t even happened yet, that we’re willing to go to yeah, and I’m a perfect example of that.

@26:33 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So, I created four companies and I can remember the moments in each of them where I almost literally died, not sorry, figuratively died because my bank account was just so miserable and my marriage was on the line and my friendships were just deteriorated and I put so much on the line to leave through that narrative.

of the entrepreneurship. And with hindsight, probably there was not a very good narrative for me. I had not done the work that I did after that and that I now do with my clients, but my entrepreneurship narrative was probably little screwed up.

So here’s the segue. So here’s what’s at stake, right?

@27:23 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Literally life marriage family. Yeah, so let’s segue here. me hand over the mic a little bit. Where would you take me if this were an intake and we were meeting?

I’ve done your self-assessment, which will link to metahelm.com. I’ve done my self-assessment. I’m at this inflection point in my career here for the listener going from individual practitioner to this year, 2024 is about going big and going after bigger projects and building a team.

it’s an interesting time for me to be having this conversation with you.

@28:00 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Yeah, and this is this particular situation you’re in, Nate, a typical example of what I help my clients with, know, is getting rid of overwhelm, getting really clear with their path and what they should be doing as they’re pivoting their business to transitioning to a new format, maybe you’re completely reinventing their business.

Of course, obviously launching new services or launching a new business altogether. So let me ask you this, Nate, can you tell me a little bit about what’s a little more of a business-wise, what transition are you looking to go into, to engage into the near future?

@28:43 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

So I, last year I reached a level of PCC coach with the International Coach Federation, which is what we would call legit.

I’m now in a group of thousands of peers around the world where I’ve established myself through, rigorous exam and a ton of hours coaching, right?

Almost a thousand hours, individual hours coaching right now. Also have a practice as a leadership development facilitator. So groups where there is a bit more of a curriculum, whereas the, whereas the one to one coaching, which I absolutely love both.

I love living in both of those worlds as the individual practitioner. One of the things that suddenly worried me when I was doing my coach training years ago was, wait a second, I’m going back to being individual contributor.

other words, money for time because over the last 20 years, I have built a successful hockey development company, now I have a large team of coaches doing the work and I get to stay strategic and set the vision and support them and I really love that journey.

So the parallels are exact. I’ve gone from one private lesson in Central Park, New York City to now overseeing the development of thousands.

of 2000 kids a year. That’s on the hockey side. Then I got into the executive coaching because I was, I’m curious, I’m a lifelong learner, I was ready to take my commitment to being in service to others into the business world in a bigger way.

joke, I, you know, I helped people’s kids for 20 years and now I get to help the parents too.

I get to add value there. And, and when I say I had that moment of nervousness, it’s okay, this, this, this one to one coaching doesn’t scale in the same way.

And I still want to be able to lead a team. And so here I am now with connections and network and hours under my belt and lots of water under the bridge ready to now go after bigger.

For example, have my first government contract where I can bring on a team of coaches. And now I get to coach the coaches and support them and help the client get exactly what they need.

And I’m so excited that the client now gets to choose one One director might choose Nate, the other might choose one of my colleagues.

So I’m in this. Now I’m at a point where I actually get to scale this, which of course is financial benefit, of course.

And it moves into this model that I have replicated in the hockey world over 20 years. Does that help?

@31:19 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Yeah.

@31:20 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

my inflection point here.

@31:22 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Very, very good. It’s very good context. And you you used the word, kind of the key word to me here as I’m listening to you is the word scaling.

So you scale, you’ve already scaled successfully scaled the coaching, uh, hockey coaching business. you want to do that for leadership coaching business.

@31:39 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Yeah.

@31:40 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So let’s turn to the future for just a moment here. Let’s imagine that it’s three years from from today, Nate and you and I are talking again, maybe I’m on your podcast or maybe we’re just having coffee in Vancouver.

And, um, you’re very happy. What has happened in those three years that makes you so happy.

@32:01 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

that have grown a roster, a team of coaches, so that we can scale our impact. That we move, for the client, we move from helping one client at a time to be able to really impact an entire organization that have surrounded myself with a team of like-minded people because our business, whether it’s you consulting or me coaching or development, it can be lonely.

are my words, not yours, right? it is an us and them, which is amazing. love to come in and out of organizations, right?

And be able to help in all different industries. this idea of- As a business owner, I haven’t had many peers, and I feel like this is a chance to be able to provide employment opportunity for some people, even with way more experience than me.

Because the most experienced coaches might go to the highest level leader in the organization that we’re with. I can offer something to somebody, provide someone that wants to be able to show up and coach.

I can offer opportunities for them and learn along the way. mean, what better balance is there than that? Yeah.

So that’s happiness three years from now.

@33:23 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So I heard clients roster. I think I missed one because I took a pen piece of paper. The second aspect is peers.

I think I missed one in the middle. Can you maybe you remember where was well?

@33:41 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Peers and then I’m learning learning that we’re able to have bigger impact on a larger number of leaders inside an organization and actually, you know, be able to make positive change organization wide.

@33:54 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

OK.

@33:55 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Leader one to one can do that, right? Because we’re helping leaders. be more effective and scaling to a larger roster can have even a multiplier effect, right?

@34:08 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Beautiful, beautiful. Okay, so earlier you told me what it sounds like makes you think that you can be successful at this because you have previous experience.

Now I’m going to ask you the other question which is what could get in the way? What do you feel like could get in the way of that success story to unfold the way you want?

@34:34 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

As I was taking the leap, starting the book that I’m in the process of writing and I’m telling the world now that I’m writing my first book.

@34:44 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

You’re writing a book of regulations?

@34:46 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

four leaders who have been through similar journeys to me. As I was writing last night, I was thinking about what is making this impossible and it’s

to dream big and why not me and so of course the thing that’s getting in the way of that previous to that is well that’s for somebody else to do with more experience with not a thousand hours but two thousand hours I gotta be an MCC before I can can do that and I’m letting myself know that that’s a bunch of garbage because what better opportunity than to bring on people with incredible amounts of experience so the same thing that I’m letting go up to make it possible is the you know it’s the same thing yeah that would that would otherwise be getting in the way it’s that classic imposter syndrome right mm-hmm and you’re discovering this for the first time through your book or is it something that you’ve felt before that’s a great question I’ve felt before and I’ve known it but as I’m starting to write my energy level is just spiking you know I got coaching the other day on it and

And as I talk about it and do it and get my fingers moving on the keyboard, I’m like, F yeah, it’s time.

It’s time to like take that to take that that that position. And otherwise. The opposite of that is sort of continuing on looking for one client at the time, which is also extremely rewarding and absolutely love a love coaching, right?

And I have so benefited in my life from the coaching practice and working one to one with clients. But I think I’m taking action steps and it comes back to this idea of why not me.

And I have a few friends in mind, know, that when I value deeply, who’s grown a multi-billion dollar business, I’m best friends, and we have equal respect for one another.

And he dreamed super big and just went and did it. And he’s. It’s kind of like, why not unite?

When are you going to dream super big and go and do it? What you have dreaming big and go and to do it for 20 years, but now it’s like the dreams are getting bigger because the impact I want to have is greater.

so he’s a good guiding light for me in that. And that why not me? not us? Why wait for somebody else to do it?

@37:18 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So it sounds like the fact that you, you know, what gets in the way is the imposter syndrome. You’re getting coaching, you’re engaging in a book writing process.

So that is that you feel like that’s handled or you feel like there’s still something missing there.

@37:33 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Well, you know, it’s proving the point in getting coaching and talking about it, which I feel is clearly what’s happening right now with you and I.

And I’m declaring this publicly to the world. You’re just taking small micro actions towards this desired future, which is the exact impact I want to have with thousands of leaders around the world is that I’m witnessing.

So what’s happening through in. In walking the walk in receiving coaching and being vulnerable with you in talking about what I’m dreaming about literally moving to towards it happening.

What an interesting position in a pitch when you’re talking to a potential client and they say what is the impact that you can have it when you’ve literally experienced it yourself you can say.

This is real. The impact that we can have is extremely real and I know because I’m going through it right now myself.

@38:32 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

That makes a lot of sense. It is an area that I wish more of our colleagues or practitioners would really embrace.

We hear so many times that we have to pitch something, have to present, have to give information and so on.

But I think the best way to grow and scare businesses is by just demonstrating the expertise that that we have.

the first thing we should be doing as coaches and consultants, it may sound like very simple thing, you know, obvious thing to say, but it’s to listen, it’s to listen.

It’s not our job to come in and give answers right away in the, you know, could call it a sales process, you know, this is not a sales process, but steel, you know, what you’re experiencing is is a sample here.

@39:31 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

And what I’m experiencing for you from you is this idea of moving towards the desired vision. Yeah. And there’s a listener saying, Oh, I see what’s happening here.

listened, I can hear Nate getting excited about this. I can help hear him being honest about what he wants and doesn’t want and what keeps him up at night.

So how much cooler is that than a pitch as well, right? Someone’s listening that says, Oh, maybe I should lean into this.

@40:03 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

It’s effortless. It’s effortless. It’s interesting because you feel that way, the assessment. And I have the results here. It’s 12 questions.

for each question, you get to pick four different items or levels. in my assessment, is one of the practices in my model.

called perspective development. And another one is meaningful publication. So I’m just going to quickly through my notes here. But it sounds like, so for meaningful content publication, you pick the level four, which is the highest level.

And you say, my definition of level four is, your content publication practice is a long life ministry. And in service of love to humanity, this is how I cultivate expertise and understand my mission.

It helps me grow authentically and build a stronger business.

@40:59 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

So…

@41:00 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

It sounds like you have experience there that’s good. Is this… And so you’re writing a book which I didn’t know before getting on this call.

So now I see why you gave yourself kind of this in the self-assessment here. Right there. then right next to it, there is something called perspective development.

On this one, you self-assess that a level two. There’s only four level, one, two, three, So I’ll read for our listeners level two.

And you said… So it says, I started to identify areas of expertise and focus, but my perspective is still not well defined and or authentically unique.

I share some insights and knowledge, but they are not always my own, or a reinterpretation of somebody else’s. Just for context, why that perspective development matter in this, in our professional services businesses is because…

It’s really how there are many reasons. First of all, is how we connect to our creative energy. It’s also very much how we differentiate with our colleagues, call them competitors if you want, but I prefer the term colleague.

always like to say that a perspective is a good reason to disagree with them, which is a healthy thing, because when you have a unique perspective and when you’re able to tap into that, unique and authentic set of beliefs that you have, Nate, as a coach, that’s probably when we get the most value out of you, and now out of your team.

really what you’re doing there is the narrative around your book is not just in marketing and publication exercise, which most people think about this, and when we think about this, the problem is that we will just

the outcome of publishing a book through the number of reviews and the number of likes and the number of sales and so on.

And to me, that’s just one tiny, visible piece of the iceberg. It’s much greater value in really going through this book process through this exercise of developing your perspective.

@43:26 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

I really like what you’re saying there and that’s, here’s a couple examples and I think it’s one of the reasons I’m writing the book.

No, I know it’s one of the reasons I’m writing the book because at the end of it, my position on leadership is going to be so much more clear to me that I can speak even more concisely about it.

Number two, I was doing work for a mentor with a big global company the other day and I was working on his behalf and I made sure that that was well known as sort of an independent subcontractor.

I said at one point, as my Mark likes to say, etc. Mark is my mentor. Okay. And after somebody said, I’d like to know what Nate has to say.

Ah, I loved it because in the moment, I like, I know this what we’re talking about. But this conversation, this book, this journey, I’m on is solidifying it right now.

It’s a little bit loose in that moment. I thought, well, I could speak on Mark’s behalf because I’m doing this work for him.

I’m running his program.

@44:26 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Right.

@44:27 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

I just love that. Nate, like, you’re here. I want to know what you have to say about this. And that’s the point, right?

And if I look at all these influential leadership books above me on my desk, every one of them I’ve read, my life as a professional athlete, my coach training, my life as a teacher, my master’s in education, the ups and downs of all of that.

That is my unique presence that no one in this, in this program I’m in right now of writing a book.

says no one will ever, no one else can ever write your book. I love I will do that. And I didn’t feel right coming out of my mouth.

Mark likes to say then just if you believe it, just say it. He said it was the best way to learn is to teach.

Right. So when you’re you’re running a development program, it’s not about it’s not a lecture series. It’s interactive. Here’s a here’s five minutes on theory.

Now go coach coach each other and make meaning and and and and teach it back to the group. What do you think?

What are the takeaways, right?

@46:23 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So that’s another principle then. And that that’s in my also in my marketing module and and and sales module authentic outreach.

I think so many people could benefit in our professions could benefit from teaching more. I teach a free free workshop at the last Thursday of the month, part of my group program and I open it to the public.

There is so much greatness and value. I learned so much every time.

@46:50 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

You do. People find that working people find that.

@46:53 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

That’s on my website. Also, I announce it on my email list and on LinkedIn.

@46:57 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

If people want to follow me on LinkedIn, it’s.

@47:00 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

three, two, and then, you know, seminar every, every last Thursday of the month. But back to your question here.

Yes, you described exactly with your own word what, what relates to perspective development. There’s one, one idea I’d like to, and I’ll move away a little bit from coaching, coaching mode here for the interest of time and be a little more consulting had and offering some, some additional solutions here.

@47:28 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Thanks for acknowledging, thanks for acknowledging the difference by the way that you’re about to take off the curious hat and you have an idea that I need that I want to I want to be a nice, nice, nice next step here and then and then and then we’ll move towards close.

@47:41 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So go ahead. That’s that sounds good. With with perspective development, many of us wait for the right time to write that book.

And I have, I didn’t ask you if you had published previous books and if you had done other write piece, know, blogging or writing, so maybe you have.

@47:59 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

But the, for years, blog for years about a different topic about hockey and now here we are. Yeah, yeah.

@48:04 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

You have previous experience, so that’s great. But I just want to say this for our listeners too, have been thinking about a book or have engaged in a book process that was really very solid, strong, very tough and they end up with the book being, you know, it’s okay, but it’s not exactly what I wish you had been.

Really exploring that your perspective really happens through smaller, doesn’t have to be a whole book. It could be smaller moments of exploration and really lowering your bar through, you know, very gentle, easy, authentic publication can really, really actually accelerate the process.

@48:52 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Is this an example? So I believe I love something in Lencioni’s five distinctions of a team and it connects to something that

that somebody else wrote. the way I process that and turn it into one paragraph of kind of my own unique voice is clarifying that perspective.

it’s a short blog post. I’ve taken two appreciated ideas and kind of made it my own.

@49:15 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

that a sort of a basic simple example of what it might do? Yes. It could be that. And another method I have been personally experimenting for a while now is to.

So the principles are as soon as you have that thought, capture it because it will fade. It will go away very, very soon.

So you can write it. But these days, what I’m doing is that I turn on Zoom. I hit record as soon as I have this idea.

And I tell myself, OK, I’ll do one take. Maybe I get two to three beginning of the video. And I just record a video.

And the video typically lasts. You know, a minute to two three minutes, maybe two up to sometimes like I get I catch myself.

I ended up I end up talking about this thing for 18 minutes. This little idea that just crossed my mind 18 minutes, like capture this immediately.

And then I post it on YouTube on my channel. So if you go to my channel, there’s the scene knows.

Yeah, okay, there’s a couple hundreds of those. And this is what I called seed content. You’re you know, the universe planted the seed in your mind.

And you’re acknowledging the seed and you’re like, what can I do with that? That seed idea?

@50:36 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

me plant it that we put it in the soil metaphorically here because we’re talking story and narrative.

@50:41 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Yeah, let me plant in this in the soil of content and put that on on a tape it on a short video and see what it does.

And then look at it metaphoric grow. there maybe a lot of people are going to like this video and comment and give you some likes.

That’s cool. But what does he do with you? Oh, are you getting even more excited with this idea? Could you pick up this idea next and turn it into a written piece and maybe a more structured piece?

And maybe that becomes a chapter of your book because very easily it can get to a thousand to two thousand three thousand words.

And it’s growing, it’s growing, it becomes more structured. And then because we’re in business, then the next stage is, well, you monetize this idea.

You turn it into a chapter of your book, sell your book, but maybe you do a seminar around this idea.

You launch a coaching program around this idea. You have a package, I mean, then the sky is the limit.

But very, very much approaching prospective development from that design, you know, that’s what really design thinking is about. Prototype being the minimally viable form of a product, which in our profession looks like.

like one sentence or two sentences on the back of the neck of the neck. That’s why the idea. That’s where I really encourage all of us and all our listeners to start.

I just described something that I call the greenhouse method to feel less publishing. that’s, so this was now rehearsed, Nate obviously we didn’t plan on talking about this.

Yeah. is my, this is my, one of my upcoming, you know, to attend webinars. If you can’t make it, there will be recordings.

So you can, you can ask for it. But really engage as smoothly as possible. If you’re, if anyone here listening to this podcast is still doubting the benefit of writing, publishing, exploring your expertise.

Keep in mind that if you claim to, to build an expertise business, if you, if the word expert has come across your language, your vinecular or the vinecular of

of your clients or audience to describe who you are. This is what your business model is about. You are paid to share your knowledge and your ideas.

So give a sample, go to the ideas of gym every day, publish, post on YouTube. People tell me, OK, but I already write a lot.

like, great, where is it? It’s all on my notebook or on my hard drive, and I’m well, that’s not publishing.

That’s writing. That’s different. In the word publishing, there is public.

@53:35 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

I like this for a couple of reasons. I love, I’m just going to challenge the word expert, just for the listeners.

I love this line. There are no experts, just people in practice. And so authority is one thing. you just said, go to the ideas gym.

What do you do at the gym? You’re working on development. So we are developing with this methodology. this idea where we’re moving towards an even greater authority in our space Through our own ideas and I love that you just use the word gym right now because last year I finally gave myself permission to Take my kids to school for nine Take my dog on a run on the seawall and Vancouver 25 30 minutes and start my day You know at closer closer to ten, but what I’m every single run I have a clarity and an idea It’s like my meditation.

That’s my ideas gym And so I was just picturing this habit of coming in the door with that idea and recording it Transcribing it writing it down creating the video.

That’s not only have I given myself permission because it’s my health It’s my number one, know big rock and in core value But it’s also where my best ideas come from so the fact that you called the ideas gym.

I just I just love that

@55:00 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

I love it. I didn’t put it together, I have to share that most of my ideas that I care about come from my morning active walk.

have an active walk every morning. And as soon as I come to my office, I’m like, oh, yeah, I got to write this down.

@55:16 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Right.

@55:17 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

also recorded on my phone, but that’s when it shows up.

@55:20 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

It shows up because we’re, that’s presence, right? You’re in the moment, we live in Seattle. I live here. live in beautiful places.

We get to to mess with, feel the rain or see the green and those ideas come. That’s, that’s, that’s mindfulness right there, right?

our brain is doing all sorts of things that gives us one idea where you think, I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this before, and I better get home quicker.

@55:45 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

I’m going to lose it. Yeah, and see yet again, I would just want to circle back to what you, the first question you asked me means for what is strategic narrative.

I explained quickly that narrative is different.

@55:57 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

It’s a system of stories.

@55:58 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Yeah, here is another. Another story that adds to your system, which is your narrative, which is how do you generate ideas?

And the story you tell yourself about health as well. I want to be, you’ve got, I see that you’re an athlete too.

So I see that you’ve got system in place. You’ve got a recurring thing and you’ve got habits that you’re constantly working on.

Right? now I want to start to start to closer to 10 and want to have this opportunity to exercise first.

So that’s another story. So keep that in mind everyone, Nate, business narrative and to scale your new business, your new venture work on that system of stories.

One by one today, we just covered, you know, perspective development because that’s your current focus. But look around. There’s a whole universe of them waiting for you to decide if they are the right.

@57:00 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

twins or not. I like that. That’s a great place for us to leave it selfishly, that I have a big takeaway there, that those little moments that I’m so sure of and my energy heightens, that’s that unique perspective.

@57:15 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

I’m so good.

@57:17 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

Yom, thank you so much for your time. This was, I really enjoyed putting myself out there in the service of our listeners and getting a chance to see what you do.

It’s powerful and I love the blend of coaching and consulting. Can you just tell the listeners again where they can find you?

@57:37 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

So you just go to my website meta-helm.com, m-e-t-a-h-e-l-m.

@57:43 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

And there, that’s where I quickly found the self-assessment where people can take and get a copy of, right?

@57:49 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

Yeah, it’s right there. Under strategic narrative, you will find some details about the method of the gene, you are interested in really more, but if you’re an action person, can just take the assessment right away and then…

as needed if you’d like, I’ll be happy to follow up with you and we can discuss more what your results look like if you go to my website.

I’m also on LinkedIn, I’m pretty present on LinkedIn, so if you want to follow me there, I’m, like I said, I post a bunch of seed ideas all the time to see how they help and resonate with people.

@58:24 – Nate Leslie (nateleslie.ca)

All right, well, we’ll make sure to link to all of that in the show notes and I’m so glad I found you.

Thanks for being a guest.

@58:31 – Guillaume Wiatr, Strategic Narrative Consultant (MetaHelm)

My pleasure, Nate, and good luck with your new business.