The Crow Knows What It's Looking For. Do You?

Have any of you watched squirrels hiding nuts in the grass, or in amongst the tan bark? Sarah Silverman says that these squirrels are mostly unable to find the nuts they hide. A little research with my buddy Claude told me that it varies depending on the species of squirrel but the ones we’re familiar with likely find between 40-80% of the nuts they hide … effectively planting the rest.

They hide more than they need, hedging against their memory’s imperfection.

But we’re not here to talk about squirrels. I know some of you are curious what comes after the crow, but you’ll just have to wait and see because that’s part of the magic and mystery.

A couple weeks back you might recall me mentioning that crows cache food in hundreds of different locations and remember every single spot. Not only that, they remember WHAT they hid and WHEN they hid it. Anyone who has played the “has this mayonnaise turned” game can attest to the fact that the When is quite important.

But stop and think about that for a moment. They’re hiding hundreds of things and they’re remembering the WHAT, WHERE, and WHEN so they can keep track of how fresh it is.

For hundreds of things.

Simultaneously.

It gets even more specific than that.

You might remember that if they know they’re being watched they’ll fake hide things to throw off the other birds. Or they’ll move what they’re hiding … and they won’t just move it, they’ll have enough awareness to move it somewhere out of the sightline of their peer.

And in case that wasn’t enough, they’re not just hunting for any food and hiding it. They’re brand shopping. They get a specific image of what they want, and they go looking for that exact thing. Not just chips, but Cool Ranch Doritos.

Being the superior species that you are, of course you can do all of these things … except you can’t. Think now of your business. Because everything I tell you about each week relates to your business. Think of your network with hundreds of people in it. People with hopes and dreams who could use help from someone in your network … if only you could remember them precisely.

But precision memory only works if there’s something precise to remember.

I have a good friend who works for herself, and I’ve known her for years but I have never referred anyone to her. I want to support her, I do, but I can’t figure out how.

She has explained what she does repeatedly, but she does so in the way that we all fall victim to. She is exhaustive, listing every problem she solves, every way she helps, every method she uses. She’s like a plumber listing off every tool she’s got in her truck. She’s got these four wrenches, and those grippy things, and the plunger, and the other plunger, and yet another plunger for mysteries yet unsolved. You have no idea who in your network might need that plunger, but by golly you’ll keep her in mind if the opportunity arises.

But it never will. I want nothing more than to support my friend and send her business. But there’s no specificity so there’s no image for me to match to. I never think of her when I hear one of the problems she solves because I can’t possibly remember all of them. I am not a crow.

Now, if you had someone tell you that they serve men who dress like Seinfeld in a button down, jeans, and oddly clean running shoes you would see me today and think “Hot damn, I know just the guy.”

So the question for you is this:

Are you specific enough that someone would immediately think of you when faced with the right person? In a professional network as big as yours, when you tell someone what you do and who you help, are people immediately calling to mind people they know?

Or are you vague enough that no matter how badly we want to support you, we can’t.

Do you remember others precisely? When you’re sitting across from someone next week and they describe a problem, and they always do (we are humans after all) can you immediately picture the right person in your network? Or do you say “that’s nice” and ask about their latest vacation?

Specificity and precision.

You can’t reach the lofty heights that a Crow can in so many ways, so you will still have to play the mayonnaise game, but you CAN be specific and you CAN be precise and it will be the difference between someone wanting to support you, and actually supporting you.

Attorneys and financial advisors are particularly prone to this. You serve everyone, which means no one thinks of you first. The attorney who handles whatever comes through the door. The advisor who works with anyone with money. Nobody pictures your ideal client because you have not given them a picture to match to. The crow finds exactly what it is looking for because it knew what it wanted before it started looking.

Be a crow. Pay attention, remember everything, and never stop learning.

Hit reply or reach out. In one sentence, who is the exact person you want more of in your practice?