1: Let’s start by defining what not to do.
Says Panera Bread founder Ron Shaich: “So many times, I’ve seen smart, talented people jump to action without truly understanding what it is that they are trying to create.”
What’s the result? “They fail,” he observes in his book Know What Matters. “The outcome is clichéd or irrelevant.”
There is a better way. We start by asking the question: What matters?
Then we continue asking that question “a little longer than it feels comfortable,” he suggests.
“If we want to create something of enduring relevance in this world,” Ron writes, “—whether it be a business or even public policy—don’t skip this step.”
He recommends we put pen to paper.
“Take the time to truly define the solution we are imagining,” he suggests. “Knowing what will matter tomorrow—and being able to clearly see it, feel it, state it, and communicate it to the people who we need to help bring it to life—dramatically increases the probability we will produce the outcomes we desire.”
2: This approach to innovation requires a certain tenacity.
“I’ve often been called relentless by those who’ve worked with me during the innovation process,” Ron writes. “And it’s true—I am relentless, especially when I’ve locked my sights on an opportunity.
“I’m relentless in asking the question, What matters?’ he shares.
“And when I start to get a glimpse of an answer,” Ron explains, “I’m relentless in developing, clarifying, testing, and refining that answer until it becomes an unforgettable concept—first on paper, then in the physical world.
“I don’t care if meetings run late into the night, if we spend an hour getting a single word or phrase just right,” he writes. “Good enough never is. Getting the essence right is everything.”
Yesterday, we analyzed Ron’s “Concept Essence” framework.
Which “acts as a self-regulating device for individuals and teams throughout a company,” he observes. “Not only does it guide the initial creation process; it’s a touchstone they can refer to again and again in decision-making as the company grows and evolves.”
A successful Concept Essence should have a long life—”remaining essentially unchanged for many years, maybe decades,” Ron notes.
Yes, the Concept Essence can be questioned. Yes, it can be revised.
Certainly, there are times when a company hits a true inflection point “and a fundamental reinvention is necessary,” he notes.
“But it’s not something to do lightly,” Ron suggests. “Just as your personality may change and evolve over time, so too can a brand’s, but it’s a process that happens gradually over decades, not overnight on a whim.”
3: The founding fathers of the United States understood this idea when they wrote the Constitution. They grappled with the words that would unite our newly formed nation.
“I like to imagine them working through the night,” Ron writes, “debating, testing, defending, questioning each line of a document that they intended to stand the test of time.
“The Constitution doesn’t spell out every detail of how the nation will work,” he notes. “Rather, it articulates the principles that underlie our laws and processes. It is not entirely inflexible, but it is clear in intent and is not easy to change.
What else?
It is “aspirational—centuries after it was written we are still striving to live up to its ideals and form a more perfect union,” Ron observes.
A good Concept Essence is similar. “A business may spend years, even decades,” he writes, “trying to grow into the vision that was laid out in its founding documents.
“No Concept Essence document is perfect, nor is that its goal,” Ron notes. “But it should offer significant clarity on who you hope to be—with somewhere in the range of 80 to 85 percent certainty.”
Of course, there will be tweaks and changes as new information becomes available.
“But if we can get it largely right before we move into the phase of creating what we envision, we’ll save yourself so much work in the long run.”
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: How deeply do I commit to understanding what truly matters before rushing into action, and am I willing to keep refining my vision until it resonates fully?
Action: Commit to spending focused time this week articulating our core purpose and testing it until our vision is unmistakably clear and compelling for all involved.
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