Where’s Your Roadmap
If you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t get lost.
I advise some companies on strategy, helping the owners figure out where their business is today, and where they would like to see it in 5 years. These two pieces of information can then be used to devise a road map for success for the business – we can plan what needs to be done in order for the business to reach its ultimate goal.
On occasion, I’ll encounter resistance toward adopting a map – especially when the business currently is successful at what it does. This is mindful of the following story:
A businessman is on vacation in the Caribbean, when he sees a fisherman come into the dock at noon with a few fish. He approaches the fisherman and asks why he ends his day so early. The fisherman responds:
“I get up early and head out fishing. By noon I’ve caught enough fish to support my family. I sell the fish, take a short siesta, spend some time with the family, and spend some time with my friends.”
The businessman asks, “Why don’t you fish all day, and earn more money. Pretty soon you would be able to buy another boat, and expand your business!”
The fisherman asks, “But what then?”
“Why, you could keep expanding until you have an entire fleet of boats!”
“And then?”
“You could sell directly to the resellers with that kind of volume – you could open your own fishery!”
“And then?”
“You could hire a manager to run the business and retire and live off the company! You could spend your time fishing, taking a siesta, and spending time with your family and friends.”
The story illustrates that sometimes, the end goal might bring us back to where we started from, and so we could avoid a lot of work by just staying where we are. If the goal is just money, then this is what often happens.
A business, however, is concerned with profits for another reason – usually expressed in the mission statement of the business. The goal is therefore not circular in nature. As such, this story does not apply.
If a business aims to get somewhere, then it can plan a route. It can measure progress. It can make sure it does not get lost along the way. But if the business has no aim, then it can spend years wandering in circles. It’s failure to move in a targeted manner can bring it to a state of irrelevance as its industry passes it by. Mistakes can be made repeatedly as no clear goal exists.
Is your business wandering around in the dark? Or does it have a clear vision and goal, and a map to get there?
Related posts:
- Mixing Family and Business
- Plan B? Support Plan A
- When Time Runs Out
- Pouring the Foundation
- I Have a Great Idea – What Now?
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