Finding Direction on Tumbledown

I was hiking up the side of Tumbledown Mountain in western Maine last week when the trail disappeared and I lost my way. I was looking forward to the wonderful views from the rocky summit, but that was not to be. Similar to many companies embarking on a clear path to success, somewhere along the way the direction becomes less clear and eventually they don’t make it to their goal.

So what do you do when you lose your way? Well, the first thing I did was sit down, have a PBJ, and figure out where exactly I was. I did have a map so I knew I was about a third of the way up the south side of the mountain. Similarly you will need to step back and take the time to make a realistic assessment of your situation and the surroundings in the marketplace.

Next I looked at how I got to my current location. Likewise, a retrospective on your progress relative to your initial plans can be very enlightening. It will provide insights on both your ability to execute as well as the validity of your initial assumptions.

Third, I needed to find a way out of my current predicament. It was not a well-traveled area so waiting for a passerby was not an option. I tried in vain to find the trail up the hill, but only ended up with dead ends in the thick forest.

To find my new direction I went to the last spot that I thought was the trail and walked in a wide circle around this spot. In the same way, you can systematically venture around from your known position in the market to find the direction to go. Upon making a larger circumnavigation of my position, I was finally able to locate the trail and find my way out. You may need to look beyond the near horizon to find your new direction.

Finally, if my circular search had not provided a clear direction, I would have turned to old-school methods. (I don’t have a GPS). My last resort was to pick the compass heading of due south and bushwhack to the road. Though this would have been very difficult and devoid of fun, I would have certainly been out of the woods by dark. If you find your immediate path is not clear, but you know where you need to get to, then follow the compass. The path is rough, muddy, and hard work, but you will get there.

So when your products are lost, business is losing direction, and customers are going the other way, it is time to reevaluate your direction. Take the time to see where you are, what’s around you, and set your compass for profits and success.