Whether it is enrolling an advisory board or contemplating a new product - entrepreneurs at every level & stage should be spending a significant part of their time selling. Why? Failed innovators suffer from a deplorable abundance of willful ignorance . Someone who listens better eventually shows up and changes the game.
Jacqueline Novogratz points out that the market can be an efficient listening device. If you go to a person and offer charity or even a gift, there's not a lot of choice. But if you offer to sell someone something, you'll hear very clearly what's wrong with it, whether it's worth it, and how it can be improved. The transaction engages both sides in a discussion, and sometimes, the market causes the supplier to listen. Co-creation over time transforms problems into opportunities.
In [an enterprise] no facts exist inside the building - only opinions
I encourage many of my clients to plan 1 regular day each for outreach & enrollment. If you want to develop insights that no one else has - go do what relatively few people are willing to do. Get out of the building and sell someone something.