Business Strategy Insights: Getting Lost and Walking in Circles

When I traveled to Maine long before my consulting career began, a friend handed me a wilderness survival guidebook. "You'll need this," he said. Little did I know, this book discusses a profound human habit that renders people completely lost, and helped me see this same behavior pattern when working with clients later on in my career.

The chapter I later recalled discussed orientation in the wild and the real danger of getting lost in the woods and literally walking in circles. This happens as you have a dominant foot, and we unknowingly fall into routines. In this case, every time you are met with an obstacle, a rock or tree, you veer slightly to one side. Always the same side, which causes you to walk in circles. It's a natural occurrence, and we unknowingly lead ourselves in a loop. This simple yet profound concept mirrors challenges faced in the business world.

In business, as in the wilderness, it's easy to fall into the trap of walking in circles. We often lean towards what's familiar or comfortable, inadvertently retracing our steps, and wondering why progress stalls. The key to breaking this cycle is mastering real change. This is where half-efforts leave owners committing the same mistakes they try to avoid in the first place. You need a reference point from which you can see where you are, how far you have come, and where you hope to go.

In the wilderness, if you lose your bearings, the advice is to find two landmarks and align your path with them. This technique ensures you're moving in a straight line towards your goal. In business, these landmarks are your long-term objectives. Measuring your Key Performance Indicators (KPI) creates reference points along the way. At WCG, we build these long-term goals and reference points with business intelligence tools such as Databox. Here clients can map their goals and become aware of changes to their plan. By continually aligning your actions with these goals, you avoid falling into old routines and thus the circular trap.

Online sales dashboard showcasing metrics such as conversion rates, sales pipeline, and leaderboard rankings, with a visual emphasis on performance trends and user behavior analysis.

As a management consultant, I've seen many business owners caught up in the day-to-day operations, losing sight of their broader goals. My role often involves helping them identify their 'landmarks' – and then establishing tools to monitor and track their performance.

The wilderness survival guide taught me to regularly reassess my position, as our habits can unknowingly deceive us. As such, it is important to regularly review your strategies and performance metrics. Are you moving closer to your goals, or have you veered off course?