Above The Business Episode 474: Rainmaker to Architect Journey & Model
Bradley defines the key terms "Rainmaker" and "Architect" after realizing he'd been using this language without clearly explaining what these roles mean. This solo episode wraps up his longest podcast series on the Rainmaker to Architect journey.
THE RAINMAKER:
- Everything runs through you - you're the bottleneck.
- Usually the top performer but also the biggest limitation.
- All decisions need your approval.
- Constantly firefighting (but you're better at starting fires than putting them out).
- Essential to daily operations - business fails without you.
- Involved in every aspect: sales, operations, customer service, marketing.
- Can hit $500K-$750K, maybe $1M, then you hit a wall.
The Octopus Analogy (from Marquez Brownlee):
"I was like a genius octopus with a thousand hands" - you need to systematically cut off arms one at a time:
- Customer service
- Fulfillment
- Lead handling
- Marketing functions
- Administrative tasks
- Payroll
THE ARCHITECT:
- Uses blueprints and systematic design thinking
- Asks "How can I be effective?" not "How can I do more?"
- Works above the business, not in daily operations
- Proactive rather than reactive
- Designs systems then designs themselves out of them
- Freedom and flexibility focused
- Has operating systems and blueprints in place
KEY COMPARISONS:
Rainmaker = Reactive, Essential, Bottleneck, Wings everything.
Architect = Proactive, System designer, Blueprint creator, Freedom-focused.
ACTION STEPS:
- Acknowledge if you're the bottleneck.
- Start systematically removing yourself from operations.
- Document systems even when it feels like you should be doing other things.
- Shift from "How can I do more?" to "How can I design this?"
- Build blueprints, not just hustle harder.
RESOURCES:
blueprintos.com/blueprint - Discover Blueprint and resources for business owners.
This concludes Bradley's longest podcast series. Next episodes return to solo format before launching new series content.
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