Are You Answering the Question Nobody’s Asking?
The Question That Decides Everything
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Are You Answering the Wrong Business Question? The Question Nobody’s Asking?
The Question That Decides Everything
Take a look at this cartoon.
A frustrated boss leans across the table and says, “You know what we need? Someone who can help us…” What follows the ellipse is the boss telling his people what keeps him up at night.
That sentence is the key to whether or not you get hired. Because chances are pretty good that he isn’t describing his problems the same way you talk about what you do. And it also explains why, when people aren’t getting what they want, it’s rarely because they lack know-how, talent, or experience. It’s because the way they describe what they do doesn’t align with what their clients are looking for.
Instead, most of us answer the question nobody’s asking.
But First, a Story
When the Label Makes Sense but the Results Stall
For years, I introduced myself as a branding speaker and practitioner. That choice made sense. After all, I’d built brands for American Express, Bacardi, Citi, Discovery Channel, Mortgage.com, and Hasbro. I’d helped shape the brands for destinations like Miami, Puerto Rico, and Kissimmee. I’d spent my career running a branding firm with offices in Miami and Latin America and published four books on branding.
And all along, the ideas I talked about were the same ones I still talk about today: clarity, authenticity, and understanding who you are and why it matters.
Branding was simply the label I put on that work.
It worked. I got booked. I traveled. And I got to speak to smart audiences all over the world.
But then I smacked headfirst into a roadblock.
Hitting the Ceiling
When Success Stops Scaling
The gigs were great, but I had the sneaking suspicion that there weren’t enough of them. I couldn’t figure out why until a friend showed me what I didn’t see.
“There just aren’t that many events looking for a branding speaker.”
I wasn’t wrong about what I believed. I was wrong about how I framed it.
What Clients Are Actually Asking
The Real Questions Behind the Request
Meeting planners weren’t waking up thinking, “We need a branding speaker.” They were asking questions such as:
- How do we keep our people engaged?
- How do we motivate our sales teams?
- How do we grow without losing our culture?
- How do we get unstuck?
- How do we make more money next year?
Clarity and authenticity turned out to be the real values they needed.
Changing the Focus Without Changing the Truth
Same Work. Clearer Explanation.
Once I stopped leading with branding and started leading with clarity and authenticity, everything changed. I offered the same experience. The same stories. And the same beliefs. I simply repackaged them to answer the question my potential clients were already asking.
You see, that’s the trap most smart people fall into. We describe ourselves by our discipline instead of by the problems we solve.
Back to the Cartoon
A Simple Test That Reveals the Gap
Look at the cartoon again. This time, finish the boss’s sentence with what you do and then read it out loud in your best W.C. Fields voice. If it sounds like something a real client would actually say, you’re aligned. If it doesn’t, that gap is costing you opportunities you’ll never see.
Looking Ahead to 2026
When the Question and the Answer Finally Match
If your organization is planning leadership meetings, sales kickoffs, or annual conferences in 2026 and you want a keynote that helps people get clear, act with purpose, and move the business forward, let’s talk.
Because the question matters. And so does the answer.