Your True North
Something to make you go hummm..
I have had the great privilege of studying and training with some the greatest teachers in the world in the martial arts, on combat strategies, as well as business and marketing strategies and I am here to tell you that the key principles are all the same. One of those key principles is what I call True North. I have heard this talked about from many sources from all over the world. Even in ancient Chinese texts of classical martial arts training they begin with, “start by facing north”.
I was blessed with a father that taught me directions from the day I could walk. He would quiz me and out of the blue and ask, “Which way is north?” That training, along with my upbringing from elders from the Cherokee reservation and being raised on a farm, had a tremendous impact in my life and I truly believe I am alive today because of my understanding of this, and a few other key principles. When traveling, if you always know where north is and a general idea of the lay of the land and current trends, you will never get lost.
True north however, is not just directional, it also applied to key principles and directions you choose in other areas as well. Like a journey of a thousand miles beginning with one step, it is easy to get off track unless you have a compass or something to help remind you of your long term objective or goal. Living a life based on true principles and constantly checking your compass to insure you are not drifting off course is the key to success in many areas, not just walking in the woods or taking a trip. It applies to our journey or path in life as well.
With the changes in the economy, many business owners and investors are jumping ship from their true north into many unknown markets and strategies because of fear and they have forgotten who they are, what they are about and the key principles their business was designed around in the first place. One example is I see many people dropping their prices to compete because of the recession when they should be focusing on adding value to their product or service making them priceless. Face it, you can’t compete with Walmart and their “Save Money, Live Better” mission statement of providing lowest prices every day. What are you going to do? Somewhat lower costs, some of the time, on some products? You may want to rethink that one.
Boom markets allow for many business flaws and derivations from their key principles to work and yet when we have a recession, they are exposed, and sometimes with deadly consequences. Usually there are only a half a dozen key variables that you need to pay attention to in order to be successful, around six usually. McDonalds designed a three legged stool as their foundation; Disney created a huge business wrapped around one main idea.
The early Chinese philosophers broke down everything in the universe into 5 elements Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water and later Sun Tzu identified four major areas to focus on in combat which were knowing, foreseeing, moving and positioning. Sure there are a lot of little details in each of the main categories but in reality only four major areas to concentrate on. I have successfully used these four key areas successfully with clients in over 50 industries and having this basic foundation with the clients core belief systems help develop the businesses true north.
In today’s market, some industries have been decimated like many real estate investors, mortgage lenders and some have been targeted by the government to erase from the roles including private health insurance and college lending. What separates the successful entrepreneur with those that find themselves out of business is their lack of knowledge, vision, movement and position, just like Sun Tzu wrote 2500 years ago. Having a true north principle as a base to always go back to is mandatory, especially in times requiring movement and repositioning. Let me give you a couple of examples of making decisions based on true north principles that you may relate to.
The founders of Okinawan karate believed that the only purpose for it’s use was for a surprise attack or for a conflict that escalates to a physical confrontation. They also realized that the most extreme opponent was one who attacked in combinations, so the foundation of their training is based on knowledge of the principles of combat, being aware and how to move to make sure that an opponent could only throw one attack and never combinations through their positions. This is practiced over and over again through their training in kata or forms and one step sparring. This is an example of a very basic true north principle that helped create a very detailed martial art.
Another example is based around Heavyweight Champion George Foreman where he was offered millions of dollars to hang his name on a restaurant chain but refused because alcohol would be served there. This was a decision based on his true north principle and not diluting his brand. The decision to not do the deal by the restaurant was smart because the numbers show a restaurant without a bar just would not have been profitable and the decision for George was equally right – for him.
Your personal or business mission statement should highlight your true north principles and should be used as a guiding light when you gather the information, predict the future based on this information
To Your Success,
Terry Bryan
