Every business, every team, every leader, and every individual contributor needs a north star.
A north star guides the way. It’s a way to evaluate all of your efforts and understand whether you’re really fulfilling your mission.
My north star here is daily publishing because it means I put work into the world everyday that has a chance to influence. Our north star at Fizzle is how many dollars our customers make because dollars earned equals the ability to stay in business.
But the thing is, a north star on it’s own can corrupt. There has to be a balancing factor. If you follow the north star at the expense of all else, it will kill you.
The easiest way to publish daily would be to write an uninteresting diary entry. The fastest way to help our customers make more money might be to teach them shady internet marketing tactics.
And so your north star requires a second factor as well. In my writing, that factor is quality. At Fizzle, that factor is honest business practices.
What’s your north star? Perhaps more importantly, what’s the second factor that will make your north star matter?