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True North:
The Four Essential Questions

Great leaders take stock – almost daily – of a set of essential questions. Beyond profitability, their essential questions are a compass pointed true north. Essential questions can no longer be answered once every five years during strategic planning discussions. The successful organization asks and answers them all the time. Much like a compass, checking these answers indicates when you’ve wandered off your path. Which, inevitably, you do.

Here’s Four Essential Questions to explore, with diagnostic indicators to help you consider your answers. Diagnose your organization by choosing which of three indicator-answers best describes your current state. You may find other essential questions have more meaning for you.

The Canoe Group doesn’t believe success is a destination. It’s available every step of the way.

The Strategic Framework:
“Do we know where we’re headed and why?”

What will make your organization successful? First step: Always remember your organization unites a group of human beings. Success accelerates when all involved share the same sense of purpose. (The clearer, of course, the better.)

The Canoe Group’s clients construct a framework of mission, vision and values-infused strategic goals to focus everyone’s intentions and actions. This strategic framework becomes a triangle of rules that inform decisions as to ‘what we do and why we’re doing it.’ The hardworking strategic framework can also illuminate when progress is being made – and when it is not.

The Strategic Framework:
“Do we know where we’re headed and why?”

Missions are often derided as group-think gone wrong. Putting your judgments aside, the good mission is brief, memorable, quotable and clearly communicates what you intend to accomplish. A motivating vision starts from today’s reality and describes the impact of pursuing your mission into the future. Your vision conveys how, through your hard work, your organization and your community will thrive. (Your community = All those touched by your efforts, i.e. customers, clients, stakeholders, the general public, within your chosen geography.)

The Strategic Framework:
“Do we know where we’re headed and why?”

Values have also gotten a bad rap. The best set of shared values articulates the core of why and how your organization is committed to your mission and vision. In short, your values describe the beliefs that are central to your efforts. Values can, and should be, integrated in your strategic goals. The focused organization has as few as three strategic goals at any point in time. Your goal statements specifically articulate the highest priorities of leadership, which then influence and inform actions across the entire organization.

Strategic Communications:
“Are we building the right relationships?”

How does your organization not only cope, but thrive in this hyper-interactive, niche-happy world where communications are no longer controlled top-down? How can you be in continuous dialogue with those you serve? How much time and money should you dedicate to social media - in short, what’s worth doing? How can you encourage, motivate and empower others to communicate on your behalf? How do you find those who want what you offer?

Great communication always begins when you begin from these basics:

Strategic Communications:
“Are we building the right relationships?”

You and your staff communicate constantly - through sales calls, web postings, marketing tactics, brand strategies, public relations, community engagement and a myriad of other activities. Communicating is a two-way street, so the starting place for all these activities is the same: What groups are important to your success – and can you list them in priority? And, more critical than ever before, are you not only telling – are you listening?

Strategic Communications:
“Are we building the right relationships?”

Your mission, while unique, overlaps with other organizations. Those you serve have different reasons for seeking you out. You want to know (and understand) why your audiences make choices to engage with you, to commit to you, or to seek what they need somewhere else. Then you make sure you’re not competing when you could be collaborating for everyone’s best advantage.

Strategic Communications:
“Are we building the right relationships?”

Whether you call your story a “brand strategy” or an “elevator speech”, it is crafted from a short list of messages – which authentically convey who you are, what you do and your value to the world. It seems so simple: get real and stay real. When your actions demonstrate your intentions, your communications are most compelling.

Organizational Adaptation & Creativity:
“Are we effectively innovating?”

Just when we figure it out, something changes. The world’s always been this way, actually. An organization is a living thing, and living things are either growing or they’re dying. In a rapidly changing environment, the organization that can adapt swiftly and effectively stays vital. But how to determine what’s important and what’s merely relevant?

Organizational Adaptation & Creativity:
“Are we effectively innovating?”

Great business ideas solve a current challenge or make the most of an opportunity. The very best ideas are a “win-win”, for your mission, your goals and for those you serve. You know your side of things – finding the best ideas means you also seek to know and understand the others’ point of view.

Organizational Adaptation & Creativity:
“Are we effectively innovating?”

In a great organization, everybody knows the limits (and overlaps!) of each other’s authority and roles. If ideas generate across the organization, and timely decisions are made with surety, an organization can more rapidly evolve.

Organizational Adaptation & Creativity:
“Are we effectively innovating?”

Your team is made up of both leaders and employees. For nonprofits, this includes volunteers/Board. If leaders assure everyone knows your strategic framework, and shares the same story, then your team is empowered to innovate and act. New ideas can move up, down and sideways while pros and cons are considered or debated. When it’s worth it, risks can be taken – often because it’s important to learn from new results.

Sustainable Success: “Are we more invested
in where we are or where we’re going?”

Success is not a destination.

Sustainable Success: “Are we more invested
in where we are or where we’re going?”

What we learn today – individually and cumulatively – will be the core of our future success.

Sustainable Success: “Are we more invested
in where we are or where we’re going?”

We have a mission, a vision and a Plan that includes the goal of prosperity. (This includes non-profits and government agencies: Money is only an indicator!). We pay close attention to a defined set of financial indicators that we know we can trust, and invest regularly and wisely for the future.

Thank you. We sincerely hope that our questions helped you think about your organization in a new light and gave you a sense of how we think and approach our work.

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