Countless business books preach the virtues of staying focused. But as 2020 taught us, being too rigidly focused doesn’t work in every environment. The entrepreneurs who are thriving now embrace a concept that Connie Steel, author of the new book Building the Business of You, calls “Fluidity.” Rather than boxing themselves in, they embrace the idea of playing multiple roles at the same time.
Recently, I spoke with Steele, co-founder of the consultancy Flywheel Associates, about what this trend—explored in depth in her book—means for one-person business owners. Here is an edited transcript of our conversation.
Elaine Pofeldt: What alerted you to the trend toward fluidity? And how has the pandemic played a role?
Connie Steele: What alerted me was specifically the way millennials were…