Lesson 83: Strengths

About the Searcher

Encanto is a movie about Mirabel and the magical Madrigal family. Super strength, healing, hearing, prophecy, and more. Except Mirabel. We have all felt like Mirabel: Un-magical. But we each have a unique gift no one else can offer. When we show up for our family, friends, and teams, our gift makes the group uniquely powerful. Learning about our strengths helps us stand firm in our contribution.

This week, I took the CliftonStrengths survey to learn more about my core competencies as a leader:

As a Searcher, I need to understand my strengths so when a business owner asks why I would make a great operator I can speak to my abilities. There are three categories: executing, influencing, and strategic thinking. Across these categories, I scored highest in discipline, self-assurance, learner, futuristic, and maximizer, in that order. What surprised me was Learner because it says “The process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites you.” I see myself as motivated by outcomes, but I genuinely enjoy the process of learning about investing in operating companies. This does not mean they cannot both be true, but these surveys illuminated a gift I had not known I had.

About Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

In ETA, we discover our unique strengths and how to use them as a Searcher. I spoke with an investor this week, who recommended having a clear strategy on how to “fill the funnel.” This means finding hundreds of companies to evaluate for acquisition. Your objective is clear: buy a great business.

I leaned into my strength in Discipline by creating structured ways to cast a wide net for my search for a great business that would give me the most businesses possible. This inspired this list 50 ways to find a small business. Creating a system of multiple avenues to build a pipeline of targets will increase my chances of closing on a great business.

About the Bigger Picture

Mirabel’s gift may not have been obvious to others (or herself), but looking within she found it. We each have something no one else can offer. There are others who took the CliftonStrengths survey and got some of these results, but I have something unique to offer the business I acquire. 

My mission is to increase representation for Black leaders at the executive, investor, and board level. There are plenty of paths I can take after business school, but I chose ETA because it best utilizes my unique strengths. Moreover, these strengths lead me closer to realizing this mission. Comparison is the thief of joy. Our strengths are not meant for comparison; they are meant for contribution. We each have something powerful to contribute.

This is Lesson 83: Strengths. Next week is Lesson 84: Weaknesses.