Matters of Location

It has been said that it is the direction you set for yourself and not your intention that will determine where you end up.  I believe this to be true –  both at a personal and at a business level.

The path we set for our business is essential to where our company will be 5, 10 or 20 years from now.  While we cannot fully anticipate the future, defining the path and making critical decisions as to what needs to be done along the path must be done.

Several years ago I was providing some advice to a company that was in the process of revamping its business plan – determined to take their company to the next level.  They had arrived at a point where partly through their own hard work and partly because of outside circumstance and opportunity, they saw an opportunity for their company to expand and achieve significant growth.  I recall a lunch meeting with the founder and his long time partner – both of whom had invested time and money in getting the company to where it was.  At that meeting the founder confirmed the intentions for growth and then he made a very significant statement – “I believe the company would be better served if I handed the president role to someone more skilled at the functions required of that position.” He would continue with the company in a role that was more suited to his skill set and interest.  It was a bold statement and one I knew was appropriate based on my knowledge of the company and the business plan they were in the process of fine tuning.  The founder made the statement understanding that for his company to grow, it would take more than just intention.  It was necessary to take a very specific step – bring into the company expertise that would be required to achieve the growth they all desired and would benefit from.

All too often the scenario is completely different – one where an individual or group of individuals come up with an idea for a business.  They become business founders and owners.  They are the knowledge centre, the energy centre and the major stakeholders.  Sometimes the decision to make changes such as bringing new skill sets into the company is not easily recognized nor executed.  Sometimes the need is something else but whatever it is, it is essential that it be taken to achieve the end result – not always easy decisions but absolutely necessary.

Rabkin’s ROI has a great post on the impact new technology has on our “baseline experience”.  Barry Rabkin points out that when new technology is seen to add value to our lives or improve the way we go about our business, a new baseline of expectation is established against which we measure future technology.

His post is a good reminder that disruptive technologies are always changing market expectations.  While we may believe our product is the disruptive one, we can can never lose sight of the reality that our competitors are also responding to changing market conditions.

For companies in the spatial technology world, this change is all too evident.  Particularly as one observes the business of organizations such as Microsoft and Google and others as they continually raise the bar of expectation among consumers with respect to access to spatial information, ease of use, etc.  What was pretty heady stuff a few years ago has now fallen below the threshold of user expectation.

I not sure the saying “a rising tide lifts all boats” is entirely true in a competitive market place but it is clear that even when the bar is being steadily raised by some large market players, opportunity remains for others.  In the spatial technology field we continue to see many companies thrive (not all to be sure) and new companies emerge, set to introduce their own technologically disruptive products and services into the market.

The challenge remains to innovate around sound technology with a sharp eye on what the market requires.  Recognize the market expectation is always changing, don’t forget that your competition is probably gauging the market as closely as you are, anticipate what  they will do and have a plan to deal with it.

Yesterday I watched an inspiring interview with Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva.org.   The interview was part of an event called The Leadership Summit which is an annual faith-based leadership event that includes presentations from recognized leaders from all walks of life.

While there were many things about the interview with Ms. Jackley that I found fascinating and inspiring, one thing that stood out in particular was how clearly Kiva understood the importance of defining its mission statement and then how that permeated the organization.  Kiva’s mission is “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty”. The organization links individual credit lenders (some lending as little as $25) with entrepenuers in developing countries through in-country micro finance organizations.  When the interviewer asked her how Kiva managed to grow (Kiva has helped raise tens of millions of dollars in capital since its formation in 2005) while maintaining a relatively flat organizational structure Ms. Jackley referred to the importance of Kiva’s mission statement as providing the guidance and direction for a growing organization.  She asserts that Kiva’s mission statement provides an important mechanism for self-governance and reduces (not eliminates) the need for organizational structure and bureaucracy, allowing for great creativity and productivity within the organization.

So, a Mission Statement can be more than a line item or paragraph in your business plan but also a guiding light enabling an organization to operate efficiently and to flourish.