Profit First | A Detective Novel in Disguise [Story Formula]

I’m a huge fan of the book Traction by Gino Wickman. It’s one of the best manuals for helping your business culture fight “the disease.” Though, I don’t follow the entire EOS system, my wife and I do consistently implement the vision casting and rocks planning. So at the beginning of each quarter, we have a retreat to review our progress and set new rocks.

Part of this tradition is selecting which audio book to binge on the road trip. The book inevitably becomes tied to the theme of the retreat, so it’s a big deal. To psych us up to finish out the quarter, I felt the book Profit First by Mike Michalowicz would do the trick.

To get the reveal out of the way, yes. The book became part of the retreat’s theme. But not because of the content. Because of its structure.

Nonfiction Storytelling | Your Reader is Sherlock Holmes

Profit First is a genius concept. It’s kinda like applying a combination of The Richest Man in Babylon and Dave Ramsey’s philosophy to your business. If you’re a business owner, read it. If you’re a marketing professional, you can skip this one (I believe I’ll have gleaned the goods for you here).

As genius as its concept was how Michalowicz structured the book.

Before I break down the structure, consider our daily experience with content. It’s information overload. We’re drinking from a fire hose like we’re cramming for finals. It’s impossible for anything to stick. Often, the reason behind the previously mentioned business books is to communicate a life-changing insight.

So, how do you make sure a life-changing insight actually changes lives?

It’s clear in reading Profit First that Mike doesn’t want to teach you how to something. That would be a waste of time. Another set of tasks on my to do list. Instead, he leads you through the experience of discovering the concept for yourself.

About an hour into the book I pause it, look at my wife and say, “Ok, here’s where I think this is going…” And I basically explain the concept in its entirety. Why? Well, because obviously I’m a genius. I figured out the reveal.

For the next hour I’m slapping the steering wheel shouting “CALLED IT! I told you!”

Then it hits me… I didn’t figure this out… that was the book.

Profit First literally just played a trick on me. I was tricked into thinking I had figured out the (inevitable) reveal.

I paused the audio book again as the rush of realization overwhelmed me.

This isn’t a business book. It’s a detective novel using Donald Miller’s framework. And I’m the detective.

Business Story Formula | The Big Idea Book

1. A character who wants something.
   Consider your favorite business authors: Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Collins, Daniel Pink, etc. Their books are full of stories and case studies to make their points. But on the macro level, through the entire book, the reader is the hero. They’re the one going on a transformative journey. They’re the main character being changed. So at the opening of the book, the goal is to communicate that transformation and get the reader excited about it.

2. But there’s a problem.
   Now that we’ve built the reader’s hopes up, given them a reason to read the book, we need to raise the stakes. We have to let them know why they need to finish the book. So we dig into their problem and have them feel it. Just like any great PAS formula, they goal is to contrast this against the solution and create an emotional delta. This helps the reader see their problem more clearly, understand what can happen if left unchecked, and realize that they must change.

3. Mike, your guide, comes along.
   Mike then tells the first part of his personal journey. What led him to realize the big idea of the book. This serves to communicate his empathy and authority. He’s seen the rock bottom, and it’s not pretty.

4. But why does this problem exist?
   We’ve reviewed our personal missteps, but now we look at the status quo. We take time to examine the systemic nature of the problem. This way we really understand what we’re up against and how to defeat it. And we begin to point and bring more clarity to the solution.

5. The proposed solution.
   Mike finally lays out a top-level view of the solution. It’s like providing an initial definition, and a basic framework, so we can begin to comprehend the entire system. Because the big idea is always a single revelation, a required shift in the mind, that precedes a process that we need to follow to put that idea into practice.

6. The detailed formula.
   Now that we’ve had our revelatory journey, we’re now ready for detailed instructions to follow. We’re now grateful for and paying close attention to a step-by-step formula to follow.

To be honest, I stopped listening after the book got into the specifics. This is where the paper copy would have served me better. But, I had experienced the transformation. I had internalized the idea. And I’ll never forget it, nor approach my business the same way ever again.

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