The entrepreneurial grind continually presents new challenges, and opportunities. Do I double down on what’s working? Do I pursue this new idea that appears to be a bigger opportunity, but is more unknown? As an entrepreneur, especially one that’s prone to chasing the next shiny object (aren’t we all!), it’s easy to lose focus of the bigger vision.
Instead of asking “should we do X or Y?”, the better question is “where does X fit in our vision and what’s the priority?”. Only by constantly comparing the opportunities to the vision, and regularly reprioritizing them, does clarity become possible. Yes, occasionally the vision itself needs to change, but that doesn’t happen too often, especially as the startup grows (watch out for organizational whiplash).
The next time an opportunity emerges, tie it to the overall vision, and use that as a lens to determine importance.
What else? Have you seen an opportunity assessed independent of vision?
David Cummings on Startups 