Over the last two weeks we’ve been exploring why 96% of businesses never get past a certain point, and our challenge as business owners to keep our business alive, keep it going and change gear at the right time.

We’ve talked about you being the leader and everything stops with you, so whatever’s going right or wrong in your business is down to you.  I know you’ve heard that lots of times, but you’ve really got to take it to a level where if you’re not fixing the right things or you’re not leading the right areas, then you need to find a way to make that happen because if you don’t, your business will be stuck.

We then explained the importance of mindset and having that mindset of making sure that you’ve got your head, your heart and your hands all working together, because if one doesn’t work the other two won’t.

This week is all about purpose and the four questions you need to be able to answer in your business to drive you forward:

Question 1. Why Do You Exist?

This goes back to why you do what you do – what are you all about? Nailing this is so empowering because it’s where the heart is, it’s your purpose of what you’re doing.

Question 2. Where Are You Going?

To reach that purpose, to get to that point, you need to go on a journey.  This is your vision and you need to set out some short to medium to long-term plans that say to get there we need to do at least X, Y and Z.

Question 3. What Are You Doing?

What do you do that gets you to your vision?  I focus a lot on what game to play in your business (and to stop playing everyone else’s game) and recommend you read these two books – Playing to Win and Blue Ocean Strategy.

Question 4. How Are You Getting There?

This is your strategy, the how to, the direction and path you’re going to take to achieve your vision.  This links the what we do to where we’re going, and I think that’s the critical bit that most people don’t have.

There is a fifth one… and I’ll be revealing that next week. But in the meantime, please have a think about the four key areas above and then succinctly answer them on one single page.

BW,

Martin

Martin Norbury

Investor | Business Mentor at Advocate | Author of I don’t work Fridays