Jim Collins has a perceptive interview in Fast Company explaining why some companies succeed and others fail.
Here’s the essential truth of our current situation: The real problem has stayed the same, regardless of the direction of the market. First we went through a spiraling-up phase, and people lost their bearings as they got caught up in the great melee of opportunity. Now we’re in a downward spiral, and people have lost their bearings in a scramble of uncertainty. It’s the exact same pattern in reverse: people merely reacting to circumstances, rather than doing anything fundamentally creative.
If a company focuses on making creative contributions that fall in the middle of three intersecting circles – what it is passionate about, what it can be the best in the world at, and what best drives a sustained profitable economic engine – then growth will likely follow.
The same holds true for creative people who discover what they are passionate about, what they are genetically encoded for, and how they can build an economic engine based on their contributions. Those who operate at the intersection of all three circles are more likely to face the problem of too much opportunity in their lives, not too little.
