This is really Part 1 of a 2-part mini series. The next blog (here) will go more in-depth to WHAT Clearinity does, but this is all about WHY.
WHY really is the only question worth answering, ultimately. If we can’t answer why we do the things we do, then WHAT, HOW, and WITH WHOM become irrelevant, and WHERE won’t even matter.
Don’t believe me? That’s fine. Believe the guys that already proved it. Michael Gerber started it all with his E-Myth book (find “The E-Myth Revisited” on Amazon). Simon Sinek literally wrote a book on it (“Start With Why” on Amazon). Chuck Blakeman pounds on this subject over and over again, between his multiple books and his “3to5 Club” groups from the Crankset Group (books here, find a club here). The Denver Entrepreneurial Society (http://denverentrepreneurialsociety.com/) does it all again, but will make you answer this question at the highest possible levels.
WHY holds the key to everything else. With the answer to WHY, our end goals becomes clear and our path to it simply glows. When entrepreneurship gets difficult and you feel like you’ve fallen off your path, that glow will be the thing that gets you back on it.
PROBLEM SOLVING: MY BIG WHY
For me, solving a problem is a culmination of three things:
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Learning
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Creating
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Connecting
If I am not doing these three things, then I am not solving problems properly. If I’m not solving a problem at its highest possible level, then I’m not solving that problem well.
For me, solving problems in business is a balance of technical, interpersonal, and business constraints.
MAKING LIFE BETTER
Cool, so I just said a bunch of words, but WHY does it matter? When I solve problems, I live my life to it’s fullest, and in doing so, facilitate the same in others. Here are some examples:
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I met John several years ago, but he didn’t need my help until recently. His warehouse was too small and had some unique twists, and he needed help getting a system in place. We found the right solution for him and got it implemented. When John’s truck broke down two weeks later, he didn’t have to sweat about 80-hour work weeks and could focus on fixing the truck with his son. Without that system in place, he would have missed out on an important opportunity in his life as a parent.
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Cathy and Dave are well into their 70’s and have a small business. We started talking about game plans and the future, and all seems well. About a month later, Dave falls ill, and the business has to be put on the back burner. Cathy can’t run everything, nothing is systematized, and Dave isn’t improving. With a lot of hard work, we finish what we need to do and the business allows Cathy to have an income while taking care of Dave.
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Shawna started a business that employs a lot of stay-at-home mothers. They knew they needed better systems, but still had questions about how to do daily operations. They just weren’t ready for big software systems yet, so I built their business on spreadsheets. This was the right decision for this company and where it was at in the development cycle, and they still use this system more than 1 year later. Shawna walked away knowing that her business was protected and was able to focus on more pressing issues – like bringing her first operations manager onboard, or seeing her daughter off to prom that week.
I could go on, but these are the ones that spring to mind when I think about WHY I do things. In each of these, my focus is on the people. I want them to enjoy life, and I don’t want entrepreneurship to stop that. Yes, I do many things in the business, but that’s just where my skill sets lets me play best.
I bring life back into entrepreneurship. I just happen to focus on technology systems to do that.
Stay tuned for the next blog entry on WHAT and HOW Clearinity turns problem-solving into a valuable service!