Taking a Stand: The Power of a Manifesto

Here's what you'll find in this issue of ?????? ???????????????????? ?????????????? ????????????:

1. Definitions: What is a Manifesto?
2. Why have a Manifesto?
3. My process to discover, craft & communicate your Manifesto
4. Where and how to use your Manifesto
5. Some Examples?

1. Definitions: What is a Manifesto?

According to Merriam Webster, a Manifesto is “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.”

I see a Manifesto as a document that allows those who come in contact with your materials to find out quickly what you stand for. It is a shortcut to get straight to the heart of what makes you YOU. Because of that, it rapidly and effectively separates those who align with you from those who don’t. For “your people” this instantly creates a powerful bond and establishes a high level of trust.

The word “manifesto” has been used in many contexts, some of them highly controversial (like the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels) or even with nefarious intent (Hitler’s Mein Kampf). Fortunately, we can also point to the US Declaration of Independence and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech as more inspiring examples.

Regardless of opinions, Manifestos are a powerful tool.

You can take a stand on several levels. The first level consists in articulating your vision and mission. However, this is limited to the scope of your topic, your specialty, the problem you help your clients address with your work.

Although the work you do reflects your history and your beliefs, and is a part of who you are, you, as a person, are not limited to your work. You have values and beliefs beyond that topic, and those make up your worldview. This includes your wider vision for what you believe the world should look like, beyond your topic, encompassing key societal issues you believe in and the values that guide you. Your worldview explains why you believe in this vision for the world, how it drives your mission, and it defines why and how you do your work.?

The Manifesto is how you capture and articulate this worldview.

A manifesto is much more than a mission statement.?

Whereas your Mission is a statement of what you plan to do in the world to contribute to your Vision, the Manifesto captures the values and beliefs you hold that make you want to pursue this mission, and that give you the confidence this mission is achievable.?

2. Why have a Manifesto?

It attracts your ideal clients

Your Manifesto is probably one of the strongest aspects of your magnet, attracting your ideal clients to you. This is where the people who align with you will separate from those who do not and that’s the best thing that could happen for your marketing.

It attracts potential partners

It will also help you attract people who are not your prospects, just because they align with your worldview. That can lead to enriching conversations, with potential for additional introductions, partnership possibilities and meeting new prospects, all of which increase your reach.

It repels people not aligned with you

Being clear on your worldview also simplifies the filtering process of repelling anyone who is not aligned with it, making room for more aligned people to come into your world.?

It increases your impact

As you begin to serve clients, you know that many more people need your help than you can serve directly.

To have a broader impact, you need to think on a different scale by acting as the leader of a movement so you can develop a much bigger audience and increase the reach of your message.

You can step into a bigger role on behalf of your vision by spreading your message even wider.?

Having more people aware of the issue you address

• increases the visibility of your work
• creates referrals and opportunities for more clients
• creates a ripple effect for your work, increasing your impact?
• gets you closer to achieving your mission?

Your impact grows exponentially wider and stronger, and becomes more sustainable over time as your message spreads without your involvement.

It simplifies your decisions

It can help you determine boundaries around who you decide to work with and how you will work with them. A Manifesto can also guide your business decisions as you grow your business.

It establishes your company culture

A Manifesto can be a useful tool to ensure alignment with new employees and to establish the culture for the company as it grows. For many small businesses where the owner is the face of the business, a Manifesto can serve to reflect the business owner’s values and beliefs.

3. My process to discover, craft & communicate your Manifesto

Key Components of a Manifesto

Taking a Strong Stand includes articulating your vision and mission, but it also goes further by articulating your worldview. This includes your wider vision for what you believe the world should look like, beyond your topic, encompassing key societal issues you believe in and the values that guide you.

Your worldview explains why you believe in this vision for the world, how it drives your mission, and it defines why and how you do your work.

The Manifesto is how you capture and articulate this worldview.

Mission and Vision

For guidance on defining your mission and vision, see this past issue of my newsletter .

Values

By going through the various decisions you have made in your life, you can uncover the values that drive you.??

Although this past issue of my newsletter is about uncovering your unique positioning, the exercises proposed can help you define the values you have been true to along your life.

Beliefs & What You Stand For

A Manifesto can include your views on certain key societal issues you particularly care about such as climate change, reproductive rights, neurodiversity, sexual orientation etc. You can also include any special interests you have because of who you are, for example supporting a cancer related nonprofit because a parent had that cancer, or championing neurodiversity because you have ADHD or have an autistic son.?

These topics are all related and relevant in that they contribute to you being you as a whole person and that is the essence that will attract others who are aligned with you.

The people who encounter your manifesto may not care about exactly all the aspects covered in your manifesto, but the whole will resonate with them. Or it won’t, and that’s useful too.

In terms of your work, your manifesto can focus on how you think the work needs to be done, especially if that differs from many others who do similar work. For example, I stand strongly against aggressive and manipulative marketing tactics. This is often referred to as “bro-marketing.” I have certain ethical standards I uphold in my work. I hold my clients to them as well, and I am vocal about it.

Exercises

Here are some questions to help you think about what constitutes your Manifesto, bearing in mind that sometimes identifying what we don’t want can help identify and describe what we do want.?

• What are the characteristics or beliefs of someone you would absolutely NOT like to work with?
• What are some qualities or personality traits you have found critical for your clients to have, for you to enjoy working with them?
• What are some types of industries or work you do NOT want to support through your work?
• What are some common practices in your profession you strongly object to?
• What are some fundamental societal issues you feel strongly about?
• What topics are important to you for personal or family reasons?

Example from my work:

As an example, here are my answers to these questions:

• People I cannot work with as clients include those with a victim mentality, always seeking external causes for the negative experiences they have, those who are not willing to try new approaches or examine themselves and their practices with a new lens, those who hold pre-conceived and unbudging opinions, about anything but particularly about the topics I care most about (see below), and finally those who do not truly listen and those who do not take action to help themselves.
• I enjoy working with individuals who are passionate, open minded, curious, do not take themselves too seriously, are sincere, truthful, caring, generous, have a subtle sense of humor (love the British kind), follow through on their commitments, listen deeply and take responsibility for their development and progress, in business and in life.
• I choose not to do work that directly or indirectly supports the arms industry, child labor, extremist views or practices, or products or services that are harmful to human or animal health or to the planet.?
• I strongly object to marketing practices designed to rob an individual of their full agency. I believe marketing must be employed in service of helping people, not as a tool to push them into action.
• I feel strongly about the future of our planet and our ability to live in harmony with it, about the value of diversity and its potential to enrich all human experiences, about people connecting with one another and the power of connection to bridge differences, reduce conflict and create wisdom and wealth.
• Topics important to me for personal reasons are autism, ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome, and neurodiversity in general.

Writing Your Manifesto

After having clarified what you stand for, it’s critical to communicate that clearly and in a compelling way. You want your Manifesto to:

• be emotionally charged?
• reflect your identity and aspirations
• use vivid language
• create an emotional connection?

4. Where and how to use your Manifesto

Taking a stand is something that is done publicly. You don’t need to be constantly talking about your manifesto or to have it front and center in all your communications, but it needs to be available for anyone who is curious to learn about it. Your website is a perfect location for your manifesto. In addition, for the manifesto to be meaningful in your business, you do need to talk about it at least occasionally in your content and your conversations.

Taking a stand is something you can decide is just informational, or you can decide to use it more proactively as a filtering tool to repel people who are not aligned with you.?

Once you have listed the different messages encompassed in your Manifesto, you are ready to decide where and how you will communicate them.

A plan of action for this includes crafting the messages you will be sharing to create curiosity about your Manifesto, your worldview.?

Although your manifesto can be published and posted as a whole, the role of the Manifesto is to act as the banner you stand under. Extending the analogy a little, you’re not actually going to be standing still under that banner 24/7, you’re going to be out and about in the world, meeting people and talking about your business. Your Manifesto will be there, on your website, for anyone to read, if, and when, they decide they want to know more about you.?

You may decide to post an article about your Manifesto and/or post about it on social media occasionally. You might also share it in your email welcome sequence.

Some Examples

Examples from companies you know

Note that these are not examples of the structure or content I propose. I am just sharing them for inspiration and to illustrate the tone of a Manifesto.

Moleskine

“At Moleskine, we believe in the timeless power of handwriting as an essential expression of human civilization, a powerful act to unleash human genius and foster the development and sharing of literacy and knowledge. In a fast-paced technological era, we proudly celebrate the artistry of the human touch; the enduring pleasure of putting pen to paper to unleash your unique voice. We celebrate the solemn, thoughtful and meditative gesture of the pen gliding across a blank page; the romance of crafting a personal story to record a lifelong memory and leave a distinguishing mark in all its unique beauty. Handwriting is both universal and deeply personal. It’s a thoughtful way to express your true self and connect to others in a very intimate yet universally accessible way.

Put pen to paper, and unleash your unique voice.”

https://www.moleskine.com/manifesto.html ?

Example that includes a broader worldview, and how that worldview differentiates the company from others in the very way it does its work:

Apple: (old but good)

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo.

You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward.

And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

(1997 Promotional Campaign by TBWA/Chiat/Day)

Examples from other entrepreneurs

Sarah Santacroce

For an example of a manifesto that is used for information, available to anyone who is curious to learn about it, see Sarah Santacrocce’s website .?

Claire Paniccia

For an example of a Manifesto being used to actively filter prospects before they become clients, see Claire Paniccia’s website. Although she does not call this a Manifesto, she states clearly on her website, and also on her sales pages (Click on Values Check to see it), that unless you agree with certain statements she shares, you need not stay on the email list or apply to work with her.?

Example: My Manifesto

Your Manifesto includes your mission and vision, your values, and what you stand for. It can be used solely as a reference document or as an active element in your communications aimed at filtering your clients.

Rather than being limited to topics related to your business and your work, your Manifesto goes beyond and includes societal topics you care about and beliefs you stand for.

Your Manifesto is one of the key elements of your magnet. It will attract your ideal clients to you and those who align with it will have a level of loyalty much beyond any ordinary client. They will become champions for your work and for you, and spread the word on your behalf. This creates a ripple effect for your work and, whether you do anything to formalize this or not, you are de facto creating a community around you and increasing your impact.

I encourage you to create your own Manifesto. When you do, I would love to see it so please send it to me!! Or better yet, post it and tag me!

This is an abridged version of one of the chapters in my new book due to be published in March 2025. If you would like to receive an advance reader copy in January and benefit from private trainings reserved for my book launch team, you can sign up here: https://themagnetmodel.com/book