What is ideas architecture? If youâve come here to get ideas for building or creating architecture, youâve come to the wrong place. This post is not for architects, itâs much bigger than that.
Ideas Architecture is the key to how you lead with your ideas. Itâs the key to how you earn money from what you know. And itâs the key skill, the number one skill, that thought leaders, content creators, and leaders in organizations need to develop.
Ideas Architecture is something that you do every day, and you probably donât even realize that youâre doing it. And Iâll bet youâve never said, âIâm doing ideas architectureâ. Unless, of course, youâre like me.
Have you ever had an experience where the words have just tumbled out of your mouth? And youâve caught yourself going: âDid I say that? Thatâs pretty goodâ.
Well, it happened to me at a networking event about 10 years ago, someone asked me the usual question, âWhat do you do?â And I blurted out, something that changed my life.
But thinking like that is not ideas architecture. The simplest and most common form of ideas architecture, designing your ideas, is to think about what youâre going to say before you say it. Itâs being deliberate about how you communicate your ideas. And itâs the process I go through when I create posts like this one.
It starts with the topic. What do I really want to say here? And what do I want to promote? Because I want to do both. What would be valuable, useful and informative for my viewers and my current clients? Plus, what would position my expertise so I can attract new clients? And the key is to look for the overlap. Youâre looking for Capital Content that both attracts new clients and serves your existing ones.
In this post, Iâm talking about ideas architecture, itâs the topic of the book that Iâve just started writing The Ideas Architect Bible. And here are a couple of pages from this book (below), which was the idea behind this video.
Once I have a title, I usually start on the thumbnail. How do you translate your written idea into pictures? Visuals can communicate ideas in seconds â much faster than words. Plus, youâre more likely to remember a striking image than a page full of text.
Creating a thumbnail is a simple slide. Itâs like creating a billboard for your idea. Whatâs the essence of ideas architecture? And how do I show that as a single image?
(You can see the image I came up with on the video above)
Next, I need to answer my five-story questions. I donât just want to tell you a series of facts or ideas, I want to frame this as a story that goes from the progression of introducing a problem, having overcome the obstacle and finding success at the end.
Can you see this whole video is not random? There is an underlying structure and a plan to it. In the same way that you design a building â architecture, Iâm designing the idea in this video, so itâs simple and clear so you can get it quickly and easily. It takes a bit of time to achieve it, but itâs worth it.
Next, I write my script. And I know if I donât have at least a general set of points to follow, I tend to ramble and waffle all over the place. My goal is to package this idea and share it with you in a way that triggers ideas for you. I want you to go: âAh, I hadnât thought about that. I can now do this.â And then youâre motivated and inspired to go and act for whatever you need to do. And hopefully, it brings you better results than what youâre currently getting.
Thatâs the purpose of ideas, architecture, to share ideas in ways that people go âClunk, got itâ. But also to be excited and inspired to go âNow I can do thisâ. Plus it needs to be engaging and entertaining so your viewers will actually sit here and watch it.
Next, I think it needs a metaphor or an analogy. These are powerful devices for having your audience think about your idea in a fresh way. And theyâre particularly useful for complex or abstract concepts â like Ideas Architecture.
The bridge from The Ideas Architect Bible page (above) is the way to go here. Ideas architect is the bridge between what you know and how to get paid for it. And that makes a great visual. I know I can get plenty of great images on bridges.
The analogy here translates the concept of âideas architectureâ into an everyday example. If you simply remember that ideas architecture is like a bridge, them my effort has been successful.
And this is why itâs the key for thought leaders and content creators who want to earn money from what they know. If you canât package up what you know, in ways that trigger interest from potential clients, then youâre going to starve. Plus, you need to be able to package and design it so you can deliver that benefit to your client so it impacts their bottom line in a positive way.
And the same applies to leaders in organizations. If you canât share your vision of what youâre building for the future of your organization, then youâre going to be a lousy leader, and youâre just not going to get the results you want.
And thatâs how I design my ideas for my videos and write these blog posts. And it all goes back to that night at the networking event when that guy asked me, âWhat do I do?â and I blurted out, âWell, I used to be an architect, but I donât design buildings anymore. I design ideasâ.
Thatâs when I started calling myself the Ideas Architect. It sounds fancy, doesnât it? But itâs also a literal description of my career. I used to be an architect; I have a masterâs degree from a US university; Iâve practised in Australia and in the UK; Iâve presented at two of the biggest architectural conferences in the world and Iâve even written a book about the future of architecture (Beyond the Electronic Drawing Board).
But I donât do that anymore. Nowadays, I work with speakers, authors, coaches, and trainers to help them earn money from their ideas. Instead of designing buildings now I help them create presentations, information products, write books, create intellectual property, create content, and even design board games. And this is what I mean by Ideas Architecture.
The simplest definition of ideas architecture is the design of your ideas so that you can communicate them more effectively. Itâs packaging up what you know, to influence other people.
Mostly, we talk about persuasion and influence based on words and the things we say. Ideas architecture is more specific than that. Itâs designing the specific elements of your message. For instance, in this video, weâve talked about titles and headlines. Weâve talked about thumbnails, slides and billboards. Weâve mentioned stories and anecdotes. Iâve added a visual diagram or model. And thereâs a powerful metaphor or analogy in there as well.
The key thing Iâd love for you to take away from this video is that you already do ideas architecture every day. You use it to craft an email. You use it when you add a story, an anecdote or a case study in a report or a proposal. And you use ideas architecture when youâre designing a presentation for a meeting.
But the big question here is, what would be possible for you if you could enhance your skills around ideas architecture, and the way that you design and communicate your ideas? You will become more valuable to your team, your organization and to your clients. And this is the key to earning money from what you know, but itâs also the key to the difference you can make in the communities in which you operate. If you want to expand your level of influence, then you need to develop your skills around ideas architecture.
If you want more on ideas architecture and how to become a thought leader then three related posts may be helpful:
What are your strengths and weaknesses around ideas architecture? Is it something that you do naturally or something you need to work at?
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