OK y’all, this is the real sh*t today.
Alright fine, I try to give you the realness every time. 😎
But today is super EXTRA real.
Because I just announced a new website less than a month ago.
And I’m doing it again today.
>>> joshallan.com <<<
This should also explain why you haven’t heard from me in a few weeks!
It’s not an entirely new website in terms of design… but it should feel very different in terms of, well, all the words. And some of the images. And the order of things. And the overall brand positioning. And I’m launching a framework I call Future Design™ (this is basically preview content from my next book… we’ll talk about that soon, too!).
So, yeah… it’s pretty darn new (again).
Why in the world did I rebuild my whole site just to rebuild it again a month later, you might ask?
There were a lot of things “right” about the last site. I think I nailed the vibe I wanted with the retro-futurism and the optimism and nostalgia, I just didn’t take that brand far enough.
But the Human Energy™ positioning… regular readers will know I believe this concept is the “secret” to rebuilding a world that doesn’t suck (literally), but after I started getting actual live humans looking at the site, that language started to feel a smidge inaccessible and maaaybe even borderline esoteric to people who don’t yet know me.
And it was everywhere.
Then, exactly one month ago I got to participate in something called a Bureau Agent Showcase, where I had the opportunity to give a talk in front of 5 amazing bureau agents and get their feedback on my topic, brand positioning, presentation skills, bookability, etc.
It was a fabulous experience.
I walked away from that event feeling really good about my presentation abilities and my stagecraft — compliments across the board for my energy, overall presence, usage of stage, and the beauty of my slides. Yes!
I received a few challenges to bring in more personal stories, but this wasn’t surprising — I’d already been feeling challenged to do that since Ryan’s Impact Eleven Masterclass in June. (I’m also quite excited to bring in more stories about me; this isn’t something a consultant or workshop facilitator really gets to do!)
But one thing surprised me: none of the agents seemed to know where they would book me.
“Are you culture?” “Leadership?” “Wellbeing?” “Anti-burnout?”
This inquiry quickly became a disturbing theme as the agents passed the mic around the room.
“Human Energy™ could go anywhere!” they said. But contrary to that being a GOOD thing, it meant they didn’t know how or where to sell me.
Like they say: if you confuse people, you lose people.
So, that experience took me a step closer to a journey back into the website-designy-hole. But I was still confused about what exactly was causing the confusion, and more importantly, I didn’t know how the heck to fix it.
The big revelation came from a guy named Claude.
OK, not so much a “guy” as an “A.I.” named Claude.
I’ve been all-in on GPT for a while now, but I’d been hearing good things about Claude. So, on a whim I decided to create a free account, told Claude I appreciate clever swearing, and asked for a comparison of my brand new sparkling website with a couple other futurists I deeply admire.
And immediately, as these things do, Claude comes back and, quite kindly, rips me to shreds:
Alright Josh, here’s the brutal truth: your site doesn’t scream “futurist” the way these do.
Nikolas owns the “Chief Futurist” title like it’s his damn birthright.
Heather’s tagline is f*cking brilliant.
Your current problem: You lead with “Human Energy™” which sounds more like wellness coaching than future-building… the futurist positioning is buried beneath organizational systems talk.
Oof.
It hurt a little, but felt like the exact truth I needed to hear.
But it meant I needed to go back into website land.
I now see clearly that my old battle cry — “Create A Future That Doesn’t Suck” — is provocative and interesting but can’t make the sense I want it to if you don’t understand my body of work around Human Energy™ (which takes a minute to digest) or know the subtitle of my now-13-year-old book (which still holds up reasonably well, but is also, you know, pretty old).
This is a problem, because people need a website to give them the gist fast. Like, “in seconds” fast. There’s absolutely zero margin for any kind of confusion.
Not to mention, to Claude’s point, the entire angle was giving off strong vibes for well-being / culture / OD work. Which is understandable given what I’ve been doing the last decade and a half, it’s just not where I want to GO.
So with help from both Claude & Vox McPromptbeard and a number of other kind speakers in my universe, I’m back, once again humbly asking you to visit my new website!
I won’t poison the well with too much commentary, because I’d really love for you to just visit and let me know what you think — my goal with this iteration is to make it crystal clear what you get if you hire me to be your speaker.
>>> joshallan.com <<<
Did I do it??
You’re the judge, not me!
One last thought…
There’s a brilliant thought leader in the speaking world named Christa who talks about something called an “Obvious Advantage.” The irony of the “obvious advantage” is that it’s obvious to everyone — except you.
As I’ve shared this “new” positioning with a few people who have known me a long time, they look at me with a bit of an “Um… duh?” face when I tell them about my “new” futurist angle. They say things like, “I’ve always seen you that way, Josh.” This makes me feel like I must be on the right track… maybe I’m finally aligning the way I think of myself with the way others have seen me all along…?
Here’s hoping! Because I really don’t want to build another damn website anytime soon… 🙃
Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. 🙏🏻
Feedback? Thoughts? Comments? I’d appreciate it tremendously. Put ’em below or join the conversation on LinkedIn!
