Hi there -
Here is this week’s “1 principle, 2 strategies, and 3 actionable tactics” for running lean…
1 Universal Principle
“Your vision shapes your mission.”
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Too many entrepreneurs make the mistake of rushing up this Vision, Strategy, and Product pyramid and prematurely falling in love with their product.
This is the classic build-first or solution-first approach, where the tendency is to lead with what you are building instead of taking the necessary time to get your vision (why) and strategy (how) in order.
Your vision forms the base of this pyramid, and without it, even a good product cannot withstand the weight of its market.
A good vision statement should ideally be:
- Inspirational vision of the future
- Focused on a common goal
- Reflects core values
- Forward-looking (5-10 years)
- Specific and Concise (3-5 words)
This is quite a tall order.
How do you distill your big idea into an effective vision statement? That’s the topic for today’s issue.
2 Underlying Strategies at Play
I. A good vision crystalizes a mantra.
Guy Kawasaki makes a case for ditching the 50-60-word MBA mission statement that sounds bland and generic: The mission of (insert any company) is to deliver superior quality products and services for our customers and communities through leadership, innovation, and partnerships (blah blah)…
And instead, opt for a 3-5 word statement that creates meaning.
Some examples:
- Organizing the world’s information (Google)
- Accelerating the transition to sustainable energy (Tesla)
- Authentic athletic performance (Nike)
And here’s LEANFoundry’s: Helping entrepreneurs everywhere succeed.
Which I recently shortened to:Democratizing entrepreneurship.
II. A good vision paints a worthy destination.
While a mantra creates meaning, it should also be measurable, or its meaning loses value over time.
How will you measure success?
Don’t come up with five ways to measure it; just one. This one traction metric serves as your singular North Star, guiding your journey.
In the next section, I’ll outline three practical steps for formulating your vision statement.
3 Actionable Tactics
I. Start with Who’s It For?
Identify the core customer segment you want to serve:
- For Nike, that’s athletes.
- For LEANFoundry, that’s founders.
It’s equally important to identify who it’s NOT for. This clarity helps shape your core values.
At LEANFoundry, for instance, we prioritize founders over investors, service providers, or advertisers. This clarity helps us prioritize a founder's best interests above all else.
II. How is value created?
Next, identify the value-creating action your core segment does. This forms the verb in your mantra:
- Athletes perform
- Entrepreneurs build companies
This is also the traction metric to measure.
III. How will you measure success?
Finally, ballpark what success looks like for you. Here, I don’t recommend starting with a 5-10 year goal because it’s difficult to see that far out into the future.
Instead, define your minimum success criteria 3 years out. Then, 10x that number to create a worthy destination.
At LEANFoundry, we aren’t building for the 0.05% unicorn startups like VCs do or the Fortune 500 like consultants do, but for the Fortune 10 million aspiring early-stage founders worldwide.
That’s all for today. See you next week.
Ash
Author of Running Lean and creator of Lean Canvas
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P.S.
LEANFoundry’s Golden Circle:
