McKeown starts out this chapter with three mission statements - a manufacturer of agricultural equipment, a general manufacturer of things ranging from garbage trucks to electronic equipment, and food and beverage company focusing on soy, milk and dairy - and asks the reader to figure out which is which:
1) Profitable growth through superior customer service, innovation, quality and commitment.
2) To be the leader in every market we serve to the benefit of our customers and our shareholders.
3) The Company's primary objective is to maximize long-term stockholder value, while adhering to the laws of the jurisdictions in which it operates and at all times observing the highest ethical standards.
Can you guess which is which? McKeown offers no answer because there is not one; these statements are so general that any one could be applied to any company and are insipid at best. Certainly they give not idea as to the actual purpose of the company. In the same vein, he suggests, the first type of non-essential the Essentialist must eliminate is any activity which is misaligned with what you intend to achieve. To do that, of course, one needs to be clear - not just pretty clear, but very clear - on what wants to accomplish: "When there is a serious lack of clarity about what the team stands for and what their goals and roles are, people experience confusion, stress, and frustration. When there is a high level of clarity, on the other hand, people thrive."
When clarity is lacking, he suggests, one of two things tends to happen. The first is that people engage in politics because there is no clear end game and no clear method to "win", so people make up their own rules in order to make progress, which can look like (in business) trying to look better than someone else or in our personal life, making up social games like possession, lifestyles, or more modernly social media. The second is that people become directionless and just "do" things, hoping that they somehow make progress (but as McKeown points out, good is not always effective and five different majors do not equal one degree).
How to combat this problem? Essential Intent.
Essential Intent, he suggests, is starting by what a thing is not. This requires a certain degree of specificity. This requires us to define things that are inspirational and concrete, that are meaningful and measurable. It may require us to make a decision that eliminates a host of others simply by design (McKeown's example is by deciding to become a doctor instead of a lawyer, many other options are eliminated).
Essential intents, he suggests, should not be experiments in wordsmithing, like the examples at the beginning of the chapter. In their best form, they answer the question: "If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?" And they also answer the question '"How will we know when we have succeeded?" - because if one is on a journey, one needs to know when one has reached the destination.
A true essential intent, suggests McKeown, "...is one that guides your greater sense of purpose and helps you chart your life's path." He also notes that it is not easy but that it is rewarding:
"Creating an essential intent is hard. It takes courage, insight, and foresight to see which activities and efforts will add up to your single highest point of contribution. It takes asking tough questions, making real trade-offs, and exercising serious discipline to cut out the competing priorities that distract us from our true intention. Yet it is worth the effort because only with real clarity of purpose can people, teams, and organizations fully mobilize and achieve something truly excellent."
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Application:
"Essential intents" - probably known more colloquially as mission statements or vision statements - are probably one of the most overused clichés of the modern world. Every company I have worked for has had one, and every one has been relatively grandiose in its pronouncements and every one has been completely unbelievable in its execution. Personal vision statements are much less easy to come by - so few have them formalized or share them - but if mine are any indicator, they are equally as overblown and ineffective.
But maybe that is because I have been asking the wrong question.
The question I have been asking is "What should I be doing" without the corresponding question "Why am I doing it?"
McKeown's statement of "five majors do not make a degree" or "Five different jobs in five different fields do not make a career" resonated with me - because that is quintessentially me. Seldom if ever have I asked the question "What thing would I do that I would be excellent in?" - in my personal or my business life - and started from that answer.
Even if it is just applying it to my career life, I wonder what such a question and answer session - honestly asked - would reveal.
The one industry that I would like to see focus more on Essential Intent is the restaurant business. At least out here in the rural Midwest, where they aren't plentiful, the ones that are available to eat at either don't have any intentions or like other businesses, don't follow them. It is like they all have the exact same playbook with the same two or three plays. Order from the same food truck as everyone else, come up with a catchy name, serve the same food prepared in the same way to the same clients that have eaten at every other restaurant in town. Then they leave us to ponder why they didn't stay in business for more than a month or two.
ReplyDeleteEd, that is a great example - restaurants are so ubiquitous and cuisine types are a finite amount (though large). A few have the advantage of being relatively unique cuisines but most are - to your point - working with the same materials (chain casual dining restaurants in particular, for example).
DeleteActual enjoyable, reasonably priced restaurants are hard to come by.