Finding (and Using) the North Star

Clarity is sometimes the most important thing that a leader can offer. When the draw to an essential clarity is strong enough, space and time can literally form itself around the pull and power of the Pole Star.

A team needs a guiding beacon that they can count on when things get confusing. As  Autumn Manning, chief executive of YouEarnedIt.com said to Adam Bryant in a  NY Times interview:

It’s about setting that North Star for everybody and then breaking it down so they know their specific role in achieving that goal. Otherwise, people start moving in their own directions….

You also have to make sure you can measure every part of the business, and then have a conversation very publicly across the entire company about those metrics and how we can adjust and get better. That requires a lot of trust and transparency.

The North Star, together with the nautical mapping masterpieces of the fifteenth and sixteenth century opened the New World, and eventually the whole world, to the Old World explorers.

These same secrets will open new worlds for you and for your organization.

Be bold, but be clear. Who knows what you’ll find.