2.3 SHAPING YOUR WHY AND WHAT

It’s quite common in business to not take enough time to reflect on one’s North Star. Instead, many get stuck in the traditional way of building and adjusting vision and strategies in this rapidly changing world. But how can you do that differently? How do you determine your North Star? How can you even know where you want to be in three to five years or even more? How much time and effort will it take you to find your North Star? And how will you align all your stakeholders? And finally, where do you start?

You might ask yourself how this relates to vision and mission. In business iterature vision is often described as the desired future position or purpose of a company. A mission expresses what one does, how one runs its business and how one will achieve the vision or fulfil its purpose. Don’t get too bogged down into mission and vision statements. People are often confused about all those definitions, and even experts don’t always seem to agree. Just keep it simple and use purpose to explain why you exist.

Having worked with many organisations, both starting and established, we broke the North Star into four core elements.

Purpose, ambitions, value and culture are all tied together. Knowing what you stand for, what you aspire to, what value you bring and how you will work together enables success, even in turbulent times.

A. PURPOSE

Why do you exist?

B. AMBITIONS

What does future success look like?

C. VALUE

What value do you want to create for your stakeholders?

D. CULTURE

What culture do you need to succeed? What behaviours and mindset will you need?

“Ask yourself where it is you want to go… It is often said that life is a journey. But sometimes it’s hard to know which path to follow when signs point in so many directions. Take a moment to slow down to a more thoughtful pace, to ponder, reflect, imagine, and envision.”

We were inspired by the bedtime story The North Star by Peter H. Reynolds8. It’s a beautifully illustrated book inspiring people to observe, to wonder and to consider diverging from the well-worn path – to follow their dreams. And following your dreams is exactly what you need to do to find your true North. It’s the reason you exist, your “raison d’être”.

Reflecting on your future North Star is the perfect moment to dream big together. With your eyes wide open so you see the possibilities, explore your way forward off the beaten path.

Your North Star is something that will help you for years to come. Purpose and culture will probably not change rapidly, but your ambitions and the value you deliver may need to be revised more regularly.

We therefore recommend you revisit your ambitions and value on a yearly basis or whenever the conditions around you have changed dramatically.