Your Work Matters More Than You'll Ever Know

The client ghosted you after three sessions.

Two years later, their LinkedIn post goes viral: "The conversation that changed everything for me. . . " They're describing your advice, though they don't mention you by name. The small suggestion you made, one you might have thought obvious, apparently sparked a complete career reinvention.

This is the peculiar paradox of being a service professional: your most profound impacts often happen long after the engagement ends, far beyond your view. Whether you're an attorney shaping a startup's future, a CPA whose tax strategy enables a crucial expansion, or a coach whose tough question triggers a personal breakthrough, your real influence often exists beyond your view.

But this uncertainty creates an unsettling question: How do you know if you're truly making a difference? And more importantly, how do you optimize for impact you can't measure?

The Science of Small Changes

The answer might lie in an unexpected place: chaos theory.

Imagine giving slightly different advice to two similar clients on the same day. One suggestion leads to a modest improvement in their business process. The other triggers a cascade of changes that transforms their entire industry.

This seemingly random difference in outcomes isn't random at all. It's what mathematicians call "sensitive dependence on initial conditions," or what meteorologist Edward Lorenz famously dubbed "The Butterfly Effect" in the 1960s.

Lorenz discovered this principle while studying weather patterns, finding that tiny variations in starting conditions could lead to vastly different outcomes. His metaphorical example, a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil causing a tornado in Texas, captured a profound truth about complex systems: small actions can compound in unexpected ways.

Unlike weather patterns, your butterfly effect isn't just about chaos and unpredictability. It's about potential: the possibility that any interaction could be the catalyst for transformation.

The Butterfly Effect Isn’t Just Theory

Consider Paul Graham's interaction with Airbnb founder Brian Chesky in 2009. Chesky came to Y Combinator with a struggling startup making just $200 a week. Most investors would have seen the numbers and passed. But Graham saw something different.

Instead of fixating on metrics, Graham spent time understanding the vision. One piece of crucial advice wasn't about business models or funding. He told Chesky and his co-founders to fly to New York to meet their users and take better photos of the properties. This seemingly simple suggestion transformed their entire approach.

Graham couldn't have known at the time that his advice was helping launch what would become what is now a $83 billion company that would revolutionize travel. Graham was simply doing what exceptional mentors do: listening intently, paying attention to details that others might overlook, and providing encouragement.

This story captures the essence of the professional butterfly effect: you never know which client interaction will cascade into something extraordinary. The junior employee you mentor might become tomorrow's innovator. The startup you advise might transform an industry. The strategic suggestion you make in passing might unlock someone's hidden potential in ways they might not fully understand themselves.

Embrace the Uncertainty of Your Impact

The truth is, you'll never fully know your impact. That LinkedIn post about your transformative advice? It might be the only one you ever see. But this uncertainty shouldn't paralyze you.

It should liberate you.

Because when every interaction has the potential for exponential impact, it changes how you show up:

• You spend an extra ten minutes with the client who's not a great fit for you today

• You craft that email response that's more detailed as it needs to be

• You ask the uncomfortable question that no one else has the courage to ask

• You share a framework that seems basic to you but might reshape someone's entire approach

Your butterfly effect isn't just about hoping for positive change. It's about consistently creating conditions where transformation becomes possible. You may not control the tornado, but you can perfect your wing flap.

Even though you may not be able to witness most of the storms you initiate, know that your small acts of excellence are generating immense ripples in the distant future.

Image Credit: Jeevan Jose, Kerala, India, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

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Are you frustrated by your pricing? Need help articulating your value and understanding how your work matters? Do you need a better way to identify and close your best-fit clients? Do you want to restore the joy you used to have for your business? I can help you.

I’m a business consultant, coach, author, and podcaster. I advise solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their two most frustrating problems: pricing and business development. I’m passionate about how changes in mindset, positioning, and pricing change the trajectory of a business and the lifestyle choices of a business owner. My clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners. Click here to learn more, or contact me directly.

I’m the author of the five-star-rated bestselling book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices. The book covers topics like value and adopting a mindset of value, pricing your services more effectively, proposals, and essential elements of growing your business. The book is available at all major physical and online book retailers.