People don’t know where to place you.
That’s it.
Not because you’re untalented. Not because you’re lazy. Not because you’re missing some magical skill everyone else has.
They just don’t know what to do with you.
A while back I was talking with someone about a mutual acquaintance. Smart person. Good reputation. Clearly capable. The kind of person who always seems to have three interesting things happening at once.
At one point I asked a simple question:
“So what exactly does she do?”
The answer wasn’t bad. It was just expansive.
A little consulting. Some strategy work. A few startup projects. Partnerships. Community building. Some investing. A handful of advisory roles.
By the end of the explanation, I wasn’t thinking, “Wow, she’s impressive.”
I was thinking: “I have no idea where I’d send her.”
And that stuck with me. Because if someone called me the next day looking for help, I genuinely wouldn’t know how to introduce her.
Not because she lacked value. Because I couldn’t summarize her value.
That…
