Lesson 1: Learn to redefine your business
One of the fundamental mistakes business leaders make is in conceptualising what their business is. Traditional business thinking makes you consider what goods or services your business is providing (product) and to whom these are being provided (customer). This seems straightforward enough, unfortunately, this way of thinking is where the problem often begins. Yes, in all likelihood you have a product of some sort to provide in the marketplace but that is not your business. Conceptualising your business this way already limits the possibilities available to your mind. It is a straight-jacket for your perception and in the highest sense, it is simply not true.
A picture of your business
The best way to introduce a new way of thinking about our businesses is by using a metaphor: imagine a person (you) is using a vehicle to deliver something (the essence/content) to a target (someone or some people). It is important to note that in this story, you have something you want to give and someone to whom you want to give it. The importance of this desire will become evident as we proceed. This metaphor is illustrated in the diagram below.
Illustration by David Idibe
This is a truer picture of your business and as simple and abstracted as it may be, captures the key elements to enable us begin to redefine how we think about what we do in our organizations. Let us consider these elements one after the other.
The vehicle
The vehicle (in our metaphor) is what most people mean when they are talking about their “business”. One reason for this is that it is usually the most tangible of the elements. However, in reality, as with most vehicles, it is only a means to an end. Your vehicle is the active framework that helps you deliver the content you have to your target. It includes organizational structure, your business operations and logistics by which you are able to deliver your goods/services and communicate with the market. Now, this is the surprising part for most people, your vehicle includes the product and services themselves! That whole setup is the vehicle of your business – it is simply the energized machinery of content delivery. It, therefore, follows that the vehicle should not be the focus of your mental energies. It is no doubt an element of your business definition but not the primary one. It is helpful for getting what is important (the essence/content) to who is important (the target). But you may ask “how will that happen if I do not have a working vehicle?”
Firstly, a vehicle is not necessary to communicate your content. As in real life, it is possible to carry something to someone without the aid of any vehicle whatsoever. So it is with business. As comfortable residents in the 21st century, we often forget that the modern idea we have of business is a very recent one and relatively inorganic. At the most basic level, what is required for business is two human beings with something to give or share. There is no doubt that the vehicle (with all the trappings of modern business) can be very useful especially as the volume of content increases but for a lot of people, it is the only way they can imagine things working – this is a limiting thought-pattern.
And herein lies the problem, especially in turbulent times like we are now experiencing. The casualty of turbulent times for businesses is generally the vehicle and not the essence. Unfortunately, because a lot of people have put so much stock in their vehicles – any event or series of events that deals a damaging blow to their vehicles is enough to bring their whole venture to an end. On the other hand, when people are talking about saving their businesses, they are often talking about saving the vehicle – the tangible elements they consider the essentials of business.
If there is only one thing you will get from this article, let it be this – your business (e.g. structures, processes, and even goods and services) is only the outward manifestation of your real business (the content or essence you are delivering).
Turbulent times require ascension in level of thought. In order to navigate through raging storms, it becomes more important than ever to locate immovable points of reference that transcend times and seasons – find the North Star and you can find your way. This is why it is extremely important for you to understand this point as it sets the framework for the breakthrough thinking you will need in the coming days.
Join me next week, as we boil things down to get to the essence of your business
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Dr. Osinowo is a thinker and teacher: coaching high-potential leaders, advising organizations and originating breakthrough ideas. He is the founder of CANTAB Associates and the pioneer of SAPIENCE which is both a philosophy and methodology of thinking. He previously worked in the London office of the leading global strategy consulting firm Bain & Company. He studied Medicine at the University of Cambridge where he was a Cambridge Commonwealth Scholar. He can be reached for your questions and comments.
Toluwanimi Osinowo
e-mail: info@cantab-associates.com
