What’s a vector + how can it help?
Ok, ok. We could talk ad nauseam about how to slice and dice your impact until you have it just right: If you've defined impact in a way that reflects your vision then you’ve essentially set a north star that’s aligned with the work you’re doing. And if you’ve appropriately measured your current impact, you’ve clearly defined where you are now. But like I’ve said before, our work is bigger than what we’ve already done.
This is where the vector part comes in. A vector is an object with both magnitude and direction. (For most of us, that means something a lot like an arrow.) I want you to celebrate the magnitude of what you’ve done. But if you’re leading & growing an organization, please don’t stay there. Direction implies movement, progress, and trajectory. Impact gives us direction.
As leaders & entrepreneurs, we’re compelled to push things forward. It’s easy to fall into the trap of doing more of everything because that’s growth. (We like to call it hustle. Or scale.😳) I see strategic plans and funding pitches based almost exclusively on doing more of anything or everything that has already happened. It’s an easy route to take but ultimately this indicates a lack of clear direction and almost always diminishes our potential for actual impact growth.
I’ve talked before about dead reckoning. It’s an old tool for navigation that early explorers used before they had the whole constellations, north star thing pinned down. Since they didn’t necessarily have a clear destination and they didn’t have the landmarks to know what direction they were going, they calculated their position by figuring out the distance and direction they had already traveled. And then they just kept going. We all know those early explorers weren’t known for their precision. So let’s take note, shall we? Instead of blindly navigating “forward”, impact sets our course. It gives us direction and sets us on a specific trajectory- one aligned with our vision.
Without direction in our growth, we risk moving “forward” toward the wrong thing. I see too many organizations dead reckoning - noticing where they’ve come from and then doing more. But if you’re not setting a clear direction based on your intended impact, you have no way of knowing whether you’re on track. Your work is far too important and your talents are far too valuable to waste on moving away from what matters to you.
So. As you’re thinking about your growth strategy, your strategic plan, or your to-do list for next week, please do take a moment to notice and celebrate how far you’ve come since you started. And then, get ruthlessly clear on where you’re heading. Set your impact as your north star and be painstakingly intentional about moving in that direction.