Article 1 (of 10) Find your focus

Over the coming weeks, I will be sharing the ten elements of growth that contributed to recent success in partnership with the four directors at Louenhide & our ecosystem of partners chiming in with their insights.

Consider it a collaborative storytelling effort with the goal to share the story of #brandlouenhide which we trust will help you embrace doing business online in order to prosper in these challenging times.

The first step in building strong foundations for a business in the digital age is 'focus'. This article will take you through the 2 steps we considered to ensure everything we do is focused on our lighthouse as that is what has given and continues to give us focus in times of crisis.

The first step happens in the initial free discovery, which is a 45-minute session. I share a framework (see above) that we use to elevate the conversation so that we can understand what the problem is we are here to solve. The team would agree, the introduction of the term digital was a disruption but it enabled us to consider the business holistically.

During the discovery, I ask three questions or a version of them to open up a bigger conversation. 

1. Tell me about your business and how it feels to operate as a team right now?
2. When we consider, the business, the people and the technology, which is the area causing the most significant concern right now?
3. How would you like to feel in 5 years? 

This is where soft skills come in to the picture.

My skills at this moment are to use empathy, deep listening and a desire to understand. I am there to be of service to the problem they are facing and only by sitting in that place of service can we all get to the point of understanding the big challenge.

"We were put on a path with a clear direction & it was done so quickly. That new focus gave me a renewed passion for the business as it enabled us all to ignore distraction & make decisions quickly as a team which is even more important in recent times". Lou Kendall

Unearthing the problem?

At this point, the 'problem' can be the elephant in the room. But in the case of Louenhide, it was simply a difference of perspective.

All four directors came at the problem from different angles, and this makes them a genuinely formidable force as a business.

But in this case, these four different perspectives created a distraction and thus, tension within the two parts of the business.

1. The commercial engine
2. The brand 

Between the tangible and the intangible.

As the opportunities and challenges grew at Louenhide, the risks of making mistakes also grew. We needed all the four directors to be on the same page, and through this process, we gained clarity and laser-like focus around what we all wanted to do—this enabled decision making to be aligned and fast which is more important than ever now." Heidi Bailey

And so the problem we needed to solve was how do we unite each part of the business in service of our lighthouse?

"We started at the roots, got to know these intimately, then stayed focused every step of the way, right out to the leaves" Jamie Kendall.

What's the lighthouse?

It is the point in the future that we all agree is where we want to be as a business. It is the point that connects purpose, vision and goals and keeps us focused, helps us avoid the rocks when times are tough and enables a laser-like focus to avoid shiny objects and other distractions.

And for Louenhide, it was a simple as answering the question "where do you want to be in 5 years, and how would that make you feel?"

All four directors were aligned to that lighthouse immediately. 

It had never been articulated openly before.

That lighthouse created an anchor in the future.

And to do that took...

"...collaborative trust. We trusted you from the get-go to collaborate with us as you are a strong facilitator and enabler, and we continue to value and trust your voice in the room to keep us focused and moving forward" Jamie Kendall.

If you need an enabler in the room to help create focus, get in touch.

@parntersindigital, we are offering free online collaborative brainstorming sessions to SMEs who need some help. Book a session today.

Or follow #brandlouenhide to learn about the 10 elements of growth

? Defining our lighthouse to create a unified vision brought focus, which continues to keep us moving forward

? Creating clarity by delivering strategies & measures that keep us on course

? An ecosystem of great partners aligned to a single goal & regular course corrections

? A laser-like focus on our #customer

? A #customerexperience re-imagined with #technology as our enabler

? Business values activated as brand values

? Delivering on our brand promise of 'every woman, every day' to build trust

? Remaining accountable & agile as individuals & as a team via monthly strategic check-ins

? Being transparent & focused on the data we want to measure & what it means to the bottom line

? A #culture that supports open & honest conversations & a value of 'we care' about people