Finding Our Force Multipliers

Justin Tranter is best known as the co-writer of hits for Justin Bieber, Imagine Dragons, Julia Michaels, and a slew of others. Tranter recently told Switched on Pop, “My greatest skill is creating confidence in the room.” While we may not be penning hit songs for a living, we are looking to give ourselves and others a positive boost. Studying Tranter can help.

In the military, force multipliers are anything that gives people or things (weapons, hardware) the ability to accomplish greater outcomes than they would have without it. Soldiers with GPS might be five times as effective as those without. GPS, in this case, is a force multiplier, and – judging by his results, Justin Tranter is a force multiplier to pop stars. Many of the people he works with are exceptionally talented on their own, but when he is added to the mix, the results can get a measurable boost.

Tranter’s personality is to be brave, boundary-pushing, and, of course, confident. He says his goal is to “elevate the essence of the artist’s truth.” In the same way the GPS can’t replace the soldiers, Tranter isn’t there to replace the artist, he’s there to lift them to a new creative height. While he brings specific skills to the table (he does have a Berklee degree after all), he is constantly looking for how his abilities can further leverage those of others.

In our professional lives, we should look for the people and processes that we can be force multipliers for, as well as the people and processes that can be force multipliers for us. There’s power in the right types of collaboration if we’re willing to seek them out. Tranter knows his confidence is infectious and that it can bring a lot out of a writing session. By driving ourselves similarly towards our own innate advantages, we can help to drive others towards their own as well.

Find the force multipliers and activate them. Hits await, and not just of the musical variety.