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September 19, 2017

Ask the Expert: Limitations = Opportunity

Sometimes people ask me why we bother talking about limitations in our program. I hear things like, “Doesn’t that just create negativity?” and “We want people to feel good about themselves, so can you just skip the discussion on limitations?”

In fact, several years ago, we walked away from a very large client who represented a significant amount of ongoing revenue, over a similar question. I remember talking to the executive on the phone. I knew that they had vetted several personality-based programs (Color Code being one of them), and she called me to share their decision.

She told me that they all “LOVE the Color Code program,” and that they were excited to partner with us. They felt that our motive-based approach, coupled with our ability to make things simple, memorable, engaging, and easy-to-apply, made our program an ideal fit for what they wanted to accomplish.

HOWEVER…

She also told me that the one caveat to working with them is that we would have to agree to simply not include any mention of the “limitations” of each of the personality styles. They didn’t have any other requests, and we could leave everything else “as is”, but they insisted on skipping over any discussion about personal/professional limitations in an effort to “keep things positive”.

Our position was (and remains) that we would not agree to such an omission, and we had a lengthy discussion about why. To make a long story short, we ended up letting them walk away.

Here’s the reason why… Nobody ever has a problem with how wonderful you are! It’s the limitations that drive them crazy.

If you leave the discussion about limitations out of the program, you cheapen it, and you cheat your audience out of the real opportunity to grow.  Furthermore, limitations are not “weaknesses” and you will never hear us refer to them that way. They are simply, “limitations”, and IMHO, they are one of the best parts about the Color Code.

I view limitations as opportunities. Your strengths are great and everything, but if you are interested in growth in any way, you have to confront your limitations. They are holding you back. If you believe that, why wouldn’t you want to know what they are, have an opportunity to examine them, and then decide on a strategy to create positive change?

If you think about it that way, even though your limitations aren’t “glamorous” (people don’t tend to brag about them on Instagram, anyway), they are the real key to unlocking your fullest potential.

…and that’s worth knowing.

Jeremy DanielJeremy Daniel is the Vice President of Training for Color Code. He leads our Trainer Certification Program and has been teaching the Color Code and delivering motive-based applications to clients internationally since 1998.