I went to an all-girls Catholic prep school. I know, I know. Stick with me here.
One thing that I will never forget is my Freshman Humanities class. My teacher, Sister Evelyn, would take out her record player and play the Diana Ross song “DO YOU KNOW?”
The lyrics went a little something like this:
“Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to, do you know?”
We had no clue why she was doing this – chances are we were too busy passing notes! Years later, I realized that the point of that exercise was to help us figure out where we were going in life. Of course, at that moment, we had no idea.
Lesson #4: Define Your North Star
Most brands have no idea where they are going. They are born from an idea, hastily shaped into a minimum viable product. They get shipped while they’re still half-baked to define product market fit. Long story short, they just kind of…happen.
That’s why it’s so crucial to define your North Star. Without the North Star vision for your brand, you have no purpose.
The Bottom Line
Your North Star vision is what you ultimately want to be (or not to be – that is the question.)
It’s the mark you want to make on the world. Think about what you want to achieve that is big, bold, scary, and almost unreachable. That’s your North Star. Yes, it’s that big.
The North Star is your beacon – it shines bright to guide you, and it directs you to look way ahead and around the corner. It inspires your team, guides your decisions, and reminds you why you exist – every day.
Everything flows from your VISION.
So…what’s your North Star?