Clarity is what we need, my friend

Have you ever wondered what are the three most important things that people want from you either as a leader of a team or as a company? I come to believe that these three most important things are: clarity, clarity and clarity. It is not that things cannot change but even as they do or simply because they do people want to be clear on what the direction is, which goals they are trying to achieve. To tackle this the first and most important question is: what business am I in? This looks simple and straight forward but more often than not it is not that easy. To identify your career or business goals, you must first learn to define your business in terms of what you do for your customer or for your company. Expand the definition of your business so that it is as broad as possible. Never stop with the first answer. Take the first answer to this question and find new applications, new markets, and new definitions for it.

Think broad, not narrow

Here is an example that may illustrate this point: at the beginning of the last century, those railroads that defined themselves strictly as railroads—providers of rail transport—failed to see that new technologies and methods of transport, such as trucks and airplanes, were a potential threat to their business. If they had defined themselves instead as movers of goods and people—providers of transportation—their response to the changes in technology might have been different. When you define your business, think in terms of how your products or services affect or interact with the lives and work of other people and organizations. Consider both existing customers, and those customers that you would like to acquire.

Think about the future

Another thing you want to ask yourself is: what business will I be in if things continue the way they are today? Think about your career or business two years from now, then in five years. If you do not change the way you define your work or your business, what kind of work will you be doing? Is it a sound and viable strategy to continue in your current way of working or doing business, or should be looking at changing in some way? Start by imagining what business you could be in. Where would a dramatic change in knowledge or skills, products or services, or industries and markets lead you? Or in other words: if you were willing to take stock of the environment for your career or business and commit to taking action, what business could you be in if you really wanted to be?

Analyze where you are

Take the analysis a step further and think about what business you should be in. To do this, take a careful and comprehensive self-inventory. Examine your skills, your abilities, your ambitions, your energies, and especially your heart's desires. Then analyze the market in which your career or business will be operating. Is there a fit? If not, either evaluate the changes you would personally need to make to create the career or business that would flourish in that market, or select a more appropriate market. These questions are among the most important of your life: What changes will you have to make to become the kind of person who can live the life and do the work you would really like to be doing in the future?

Get clarity on these questions

What business are you in? What business could you be in? What business should you be in? What business should you not be in? What actions do you commit to take immediately as a result of insights gained of the above?