CHAPTER IN BRIEF

Where are you going?

Do you lack an internal compass or have you lost it along the way? Reimagining or simply resetting your North Star helps you navigate towards what you truly desire and keeps/gets people on board.

To find your North Star you need to answer four key questions:

PURPOSE: Why do you exist?

AMBITIONS: What does your future success look like?

VALUE: What value do you want to create for your stakeholders?

CULTURE: What culture will help you get there?

A North Star serves as a compass, drives everyone and provides a common direction of travel that informs every action.

WITHOUT A NORTH STAR, PEOPLE TEND TO GET SUCKED INTO THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY CAUSING THEM TO LOSE THEIR SENSE OF DIRECTION.

You may have recently communicated your strategy, your vision, and all the plans that have been carefully crafted by teams working on various aspects of the transformation to your wider organisation. But you’ve noticed that employees don’t seem to latch on. You wonder why that is.

Did you fail in your communication? Do they really understand why they do what they do? Do they feel it’s a top-down decision, pushed by the people who don’t understand what’s going on? Or is it simply inevitable that most transformations fail?

Many businesses, small and large, struggle to find and align on a future destination and direction of travel that is meaningful and inspiring for everyone. Thinking long term and letting go of the current constraints is tough. People often get sucked into the challenges and opportunities of the day which causes them to lose their sense of direction.

Many don’t even have a direction or choose the wrong direction. Others focus on an outdated direction. Some come up with too many directions or continuously keep changing directions.

That’s why you need a North Star.