Book Review by Andy Ghillyer
If you’re looking to dramatically change the trajectory of your life, to achieve a level of success that you’re still struggling to believe is possible, you need to start focusing on power and how you use it in your daily life.
In his new book, Powershift: Transform Any Situation, Close Any Deal, and Achieve Any Outcome, author Daymond John, the founder of clothing line FUBU and star of ABC’s Shark Tank, introduces the Powershift Principle. It’s an inherent ability to “turn every situation to some kind of advantage.” The challenge lies in recognizing it and tapping into it so that you can leverage its tremendous potential to change your life.
Pivoting from Player to Shark
The author’s inspiration for this book comes from his own powershift after a couple of decades of success running FUBU to a completely new career path in television. Critics might dismiss the move as opportunistic or just lucky, but from John’s perspective, the move represented a culmination of years of planning to build influence, nurture relationships, and leverage from a position of strength in any negotiation.
For John it’s about controlling the direction of your life. You can work harder than anyone else and hope that your efforts pay off in a ‘big break’ or opportunity that totally transforms your life; or you can focus on laying the groundwork in the confident expectation that there will be multiple opportunities ahead and that you’ll be fully prepared to take advantage of every single one of them. From that perspective, Shark Tank wasn’t luck, it was just one of those multiple opportunities that he’d been planning for since he started FUBU in his mother’s house in Hollis, Queens.
Laying the Groundwork
John offers three keys to building a solid foundation that will give you the leverage to control the outcome of every “moment of true change” that lies ahead of you:
- Influence––Make an impression by developing a clear and consistent message in all your business dealings. Make it clear that you stand for something and look for points of connection with others who share that commitment. On Shark Tank, John filters the presentations into entrepreneurs who are simply looking for financing or publicity from being on the show, and the serious contenders. He only works with those who clearly want to leverage their specific skill set in growing their business. Remember that it can take years to build a reputation but only one poor decision to ruin it.
- Negotiate––Business is commerce, and commerce lives and dies on deals. Do your homework on your opponent and be ready to make the first move. Stand out by playing for a win-win rather than a scorched earth victory.
- Relationships––The old adage that it’s not what you know but who you know is old for a reason––it works. Focus on making lasting connections and be willing to bring value without expecting anything in return. Play the long game and bank your relationship capital knowing full well that it may be years before you get to use it.
Powershift presents a step-by-step plan to take control of your destiny, shift your power and energy in the right direction, and drive the change you want to see in your life using an ability that’s hardwired in all of us.
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Andy Ghillyer is a Contributing Writer at Soundview. He lives in Tampa, FL where he specializes in writing for the B2B and academic markets while raising a growing menagerie of cats and dogs. His other reviews are here.
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