So, if you’re looking to create your first, most important story, how do you go about it?

Or, you’re looking for the name of a project or report, what process should you use?

Alternatively, you’re wanting to give yourself a dynamic campaign title, and need a way to nail the caption.

Many people adopt a brainstorming process.

They come up with a multitude of ideas and options; and whittle away from there.

There’s two things wrong with this brainstorming approach, especially for unearthing your first story (or Million Dollar Message as I call it).
It won’t reveal the authentic you
It will lead to a fictionalised, idealised version of who you are

The other trouble with brainstorming is it takes you down pathways, wrong pathways. These tracks take you in the wrong direction, and because of the inherent process of brainstorming, make it difficult to do a U-turn.

You feel as if you’ve invested so much intellectual capital in the story idea you’re pursuing, that to turn back is to indulge in mental treason.

The right answers are questions – deeper explorations of what, why, who, when, where and how.

By digging, and digging further, you unearth the one central truth of the aspect which makes you special, and discover the clothesline on which your first message hangs and to which all your messaging will have a North Star reference point.

So, don’t brainstorm. Question storm (and if you’d like some higher education reason to adopt this philosophy, check out this Harvard Business Review article as well).