The Triforce plays a big role in the Zelda series.
It represents the unity of Power, Courage and Wisdom, all of which are necessary for the forces of good to triumph over evil.
In business, there is a similar set of principles that is needed to overcome the forces of… well, not evil, but mediocrity.
Let’s call this the Triforce of Business Management.
It’s principles are as follows:
- Focus
- Alignment
- Accountability
If you design your organization with these principles in mind, you are all but guaranteed to get better, and more successful, over time.
Let me explain.
Focus
It all starts with Focus.
A focus on the things that matter, and a ruthless aversion to the things that don’t.
Because people tend to be naturally distracted, and even more so over time, applying focus is something that needs to be a core part of your way of working.
You need to define a vision and goals for the company, so that people can make better decisions about the steps that will get you closer, and the steps that will take you off track.
In defining the company focus, you create the frame within which people will move.
Remember: Your team can’t help you if they don’t know where they’re going, or what they’re supposed to be doing to move the needle
Alignment
When you’ve defined your focus, you can move on to alignment.
We’ve all seen it, and wondered how it could happen:
Companies where whole departments fend for themselves, protecting their own interests, often at the expense of other departments, and the company as a whole.
If you make sure everyone is aligned towards your goals, you won’t have this problem.
You want to make sure that people have the same idea of where they’re going, so that they’re all moving in the right direction.
You want every person, each department, all the different elements in your business, to support each other.
And if you’re really serious about your success, you want each element to strengthen the others, creating a whole that is more than its parts.
Accountability
Applying focus and alignment is already more than most companies are doing.
To really bring it home, you have to create a culture of accountability.
Without accountability, companies start drifting.
They focus on work-in-progress instead of achieving goals.
And when things go wrong, they blame each other.
So you want people to be accountable, and to keep each other accountable.
This way, you’ll hit more of your goals, and you can have more constructive conversations when you don’t.
You either win, or you learn.
Apply these principles in your company, and you’ll be lightyears ahead of the competition.
It sounds simple, but it’s far from easy. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.
Of course, making this easy is exactly what I help companies with.
I’ll share more details about my method in a future newsletter, but for now I’m curious:
How do you create focus, alignment and accountability in your company?