Much of my work focuses on aligning all the parts of a business – the people, the process, the product/service – with what really matters to the business. Often, the people I work with aren’t sure initially what it is that does really matter to the business because they’ve simply never thought about it that way.
When you think about your business and what it exists to do, knowing what really matters to the business is critical. That’s going to be your driving force, the momentum that gathers people together and disperses them in meaningful action. It’s going to be what frees you to do what you intended to do in starting it in the first place. And it will be what allows you to make decisions that align with the character and purpose of the business as it grows. Another way to say this: WHY are you doing what you’re doing? It isn’t to make money. There’s lots of ways to do that.
What really matters is the tiny seed that started your business. It’s the thing you couldn’t NOT do, the thing you couldn’t say no to anymore. It’s the thing that got you going and has driven you everyday. Seeds are tiny things – but they hold all the power, all the genetic information, all the life required to grow into a plant. Sometimes when we’re dealing with a tree that has too many limbs and badly needs to be pruned, we lose sight of the essence of the seed we started with.
Businesses need to be in alignment with their purpose, identity, and values in order to do what they came to do – what really matters to them. When they don’t have this alignment, they start to get sick. What does a business with the flu look like? You might see a lot of unnecessary activity – waste. You will probably see low morale or burn out amongst employees and management. You may see systems that are clearly buckling under the weight of inefficiency.
Do you see this in your business at all? Are you burning through money faster than you can bring it in? Do you have underutilized staff and low morale? Do you feel drained literally everyday you go to work? Does the thing that was an inspiration now feel like a lead brick? You may have some opportunities to realign your business and get back to what matters!
Activity: Set the timer for 5 minutes. Write out the top 3 most important things to your business. Next, identify if your business is currently in or out of alignment with this priority. Finally, write out where there is alignment or lack of alignment to those things.