If you want someone to do something, it’s easier to tell them what not to do.

This was taken during my Day Release this week to Boots the Opticians, which felt like Christmas and Pancake Day rolled into one.

I was tempted to buy some absolutely essential items while I was there such as fake eyelashes to make the most of it. But paralysis of choice* made me go for a Snickers instead.

*Nothing to do with fear of being told off.

Anyway, the signage was unfriendly, but of course, we’re all morons now. And anyway, it was probably really effective.

And actually, I kind of like this straight-forward, negative, glass-half-empty approach to decision making.

For example, I really liked this Tweet this week:

I find it a lot easier to think of what I don’t like and don’t want to do than actually what I do want to do. Questions like ‘Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?’ ‘What do you want to do when you retire?’ are way too big and loose for me.

I don’t know what I want to do, but I know what I really don’t want to do: go to Disneyland, learn to surf, get a tattoo. The list is endless.

Where can these negative thinking be useful? I find it useful when thinking about who I really do and don’t want to work with.

And perhaps it can help you too.

Creating client personas is hard. People dilemarise over this all the time. (Why isn’t this a real word?). But it’s essential if you want to attract the right people to your business.

And not just the right people, but people full stop.

If you try to appeal to everyone, you’ll appeal to no one. Or you’ll be a drop in the ocean along with all the other drops trying to ride the same wave

To cut through that, you need to get specific.

But if it feels to big and loose to think of who you’d like to work with, think of who you don’t want to work with.

Why invite Rita Sue and Bob to take up your time when you could be working with Rod, Jane and Freddy?

This is your business; you should be shaping it to suit you.

What song do you have an irrational hatred for? Mine is Spin Doctors’ ‘Two Princes’. But that’s completely rational.

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