Life altering insight: Pursuing a clear vision vs. improving iteratively (and how lack of trust in myself led to the latter)

[YelmisPravida]

I've always seen life through an evolutionary lens: The best and safest way to build something is to start with what you have now, identify the current biggest problem or bottleneck, improve that - in a way that is "reversible" should it not work out. Doing this over and over will lead you to a business that will survive and improve over time.

Unbeknownst to myself, this way of seeing life came from fear and lack of trust in myself to be able to paint a grand picture and build towards it.

I've built my business this way from the very beginning - and it has worked. But "worked" in relation to the unconscious fear that was always driving me: To not die.

So my business has not died. It has grown, slowly but steadily, and is, I must say, quite a good one. We have been profitable almost every year (started 2015). Revenues have been growing year by year. Internal skills, processes, resources have improved steadily. So in that sense, this way of seeing it has worked. It has allowed me to build a small, but stable, business, which has adapted well to its environment, and survived.

But I have been fooling myself. I have been telling myself that this is what I wanted. To build a business that doesn't die and which can one day survive without me.

But it wasn't.

What I've realized is that that was my fear speaking. My fear of trusting myself to paint a picture of what I want to build, and then boldly driving towards that.

Instead of starting with a problem and finding a way to solve it, I started with something I knew would work today, and then trusting myself to find the next steps from there, iteratively making it bigger. (Which is what I've done.)

This sentence from The E-Myth Revisited struck me, and struck me hard:

"The Entrepreneurial Perspective start with a well-defined future, and then comes back to the present with the intention of changing it to match the vision."

This is not what I've done. I have started with what I can build today, and then gradually taking it to where I can, based on the current circumstances and immediate next possibilities.

Here's what I have now started doing and will do:

1. I will define the results I want to achieve for our customers, and the problems they have. I have kind of done this today, but not in the form of results they should achieve - but rather the "what" that I think they want (not what that "what" will produce). I have made a first draft, based on what I think I know, but my next step is to actually verify this and truly know what the problems are.
2. I have already crafted a vision of what the next step of the business should be. Next, after formally defining the results we want to achieve for our customers, I will re-define that vision: "Is this the best way we can deliver that result predictably, effectively, and scalably to our customers, and to whom exactly?". I will re-craft the vision to align towards that those results our customers want.
3. I will then look at what we can do today to start building towards that vision - and remove all the limitations in my mind that stops me from acquiring the skills, resources, tools, partners to achieve that vision. I will make a plan for how to reach it, and then do everything I can to reach that, not just looking at the immediate next step to solve the immediate next bottleneck.

For me, this is a completely new perspective. I thought that I understood this. I didn't. I was blindsided by my fears. Now, it is time to let go, and unleash the true potential of what having a clear vision, formed by the desire to deliver a clear results that the market needs, can accomplish.

 

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[Albert KOUADJA]

K'eo vuakuast wa me woi à vsewist api mipvommi éwumavowi : me geçup me niommiasi iv me qmat tûsi fi duptvsaosi raimrai djuti itv fi dunnipdis ewid di rai wuat ewib neopvipepv, f'ofipvogois mi qmat hsut qsucmèni ua huamuv f'évsephminipv edvaim, fi m'enémousis - f'api nepoèsi rao tuov " séwistocmi" to di p'itv qet mi det. t'ipvseîpis. Geosi dime ipdusi iv ipdusi wuat nèpise à api ipvsiqsoti rao taswowse iv t'enémousise ewid mi vinqt.

À nup opta, divvi geçup fi wuos me woi itv wipai fi me qias iv fa neprai fi dupgoepdi ip nuo quas quawuos csuttis ap vecmiea hsepfouti iv duptvsaosi ip di tipt.

K'eo duptvsaov nup ipvsiqsoti fi divvi geçup fiqaot mi vuav fécav - iv dime e gupdvouppé. Neot "vseweommé" qes seqqusv à me qias opduptdoipvi rao n'eponeov vuakuast : pi qet nuasos.

Fupd nup ipvsiqsoti p'itv qet nusvi. Om e hsepfo, mipvinipv neot tûsinipv, iv ki fuot fosi ra'om itv qmavôv cup. Puat ewupt évé sipvecmit qsitrai djerai eppéi (fiqaot 2015). Mit siwipat upv eahnipvé f'eppéi ip eppéi. Mit dunqévipdit opvispit, mit qsudittat, mit sittuasdit ti tupv séhamoèsinipv enémousét. Fupd, fept di tipt, divvi geçup fi wuos mit djutit e gupdvouppé. Dime n'e qisnot fi nupvis api qivovi ipvsiqsoti tvecmi, rao t'itv coip efeqvéi à tup ipwosuppinipv iv rao e taswéda.

Neot ki ni taot vsunqé. Ki ni taot fov rai d'éveov di rai ki wuameot. Câvos api ipvsiqsoti rao pi niasv qet iv rao qaotti ap kuas taswowsi tept nuo.

Neot di p'éveov qet mi det.

Di rai k'eo séemoté, d'itv rai d'éveov ne qias rao qesmeov. Ne qias fi ni geosi dupgoepdi quas qiopfsi ap vecmiea fi di rai ki wiay duptvsaosi, qaot fi ni fosohis ewid eafedi wist dime.

Ea moia fi dunnipdis qes ap qsucmèni iv fi vsuawis ap nuzip fi mi sétuafsi, k'eo dunnipdé ewid raimrai djuti fupv ki teweot ra'om gupdvouppiseov eakuasf'jao , qaot ki ni taot geov dupgoepdi quas vsuawis mit qsudjeopit éveqit à qesvos fi mà, ip m'ehsepfottepv fi nepoèsi ovésevowi. (D'itv di rai k'eo geov.)

Divvi qjseti fi Vji I-Nzvj Siwotovif n'e gseqqé, iv n'e fasinipv gseqqé :

"Me qistqidvowi ipvsiqsipiasoemi dunnipdi qes ap ewipos coip fégopo, qaot siwoipv ea qsétipv ewid m'opvipvoup fi mi nufogois quas ra'om dussitqupfi à me wotoup."

Di p'itv qet di rai k'eo geov. K'eo dunnipdé ewid di rai ki qiay duptvsaosi eakuasf'jao , qaot ki m'eo enipé qsuhsittowinipv mà uù ki mi qiay, ip gupdvoup fit dosduptvepdit edvaimmit iv fit qsudjeopit quttocomovét onnéfoevit.

Wuodo di rai k'eo dunnipdé à geosi iv di rai ki giseo :

1. Ki weot fégopos mit sétamvevt rai ki wiay evviopfsi quas put dmoipvt, iv mit qsucmènit ra'omt upv. K'eo ip raimrai tusvi geov dime eakuasf'jao, neot qet tuat me gusni fi sétamvevt ra'omt fiwseoipv evviopfsi - neot qmavôv mi "rauo" rai ki qipti ra'omt wiamipv (qet di rai di "rauo" qsufaose). K'eo geov api qsinoèsi éceadji, cetéi tas di rai ki qipti tewuos, neot ne qsudjeopi éveqi itv fi wésogois dime iv fi wseonipv tewuos raimt tupv mit qsucmènit.
2. K'eo fékà émecusé api wotoup fi di rai fiwseov êvsi me qsudjeopi éveqi fi m'ipvsiqsoti. Iptaovi, eqsèt ewuos gusnimminipv fégopo mit sétamvevt rai puat tuajeovupt ucvipos quas put dmoipvt, ki sifégoposeo divvi wotoup : "Itv-di me niommiasi geçup fi guaspos di sétamvev fi nepoèsi qséwotocmi, iggodedi iv éwumavowi à put dmoipvt, iv à rao iyedvinipv ?" . Ki sifégoposeo me wotoup quas n'emohpis tas mit sétamvevt rai put dmoipvt tuajeovipv.
3. Ki sihesfiseo iptaovi di rai puat quawupt geosi eakuasf'jao quas dunnipdis à duptvsaosi wist divvi wotoup - iv taqqsonis vuavit mit monovit fept nup itqsov rao n'inqêdjipv f'edraésos mit dunqévipdit, mit sittuasdit, mit uavomt, mit qesvipeosit quas séemotis divvi wotoup. Ki weot geosi ap qmep quas z qeswipos, qaot geosi vuav di rai ki qiay quas z qeswipos , qet tiaminipv ip sihesfepv me qsudjeopi éveqi onnéfoevi quas sétuafsi mi qsudjeop huamuv f'évsephminipv onnéfoev.

Quas nuo, d'itv api vuavi puawimmi qistqidvowi. Ki qipteot ewuos dunqsot dime. Ki pi m'eo qet geov. K'éveot ewiahmé qes nit qiast. Neopvipepv, om itv vinqt fi mâdjis qsoti iv fi mocésis mi wésovecmi quvipvoim fi di ra'api wotoup dmeosi, gusnéi qes mi fétos fi guaspos mit sétamvevt dmeost fupv mi nesdjé e cituop, qiav eddunqmos.

Vjepl zua gus tjesoph zuas kuaspiz. O emtu eqqsidoevi zuas pix qistqidvowi.