A business owner friend of mine recently described his company’s success operating in a niche area of construction. As he explained not only the services his team provides, but the expertise of each team member, I could not help but wonder why he didn’t mobilize his team for broader purposes. They clearly have wide-ranging skillsets and may even enjoy the variety of experiences that could come by expanding their services.

As he freely showed me his company’s financial history, I quickly lined up five years of statements for some analytical fun. It took 30 seconds to see that one year stood out… for unfortunate reasons. Whereas years 1, 2, 4 and 5 showed steady revenue and bottom line growth, year 3 showed terrific revenue but a significant loss. Naturally, I asked my friend what happened. He confidently, yet humbly replied, “We tried to do something other than what we do. We’ve since determined what we do best and are committed to staying in our lane.”

When leaders answer and communicate “What do we do?”, they offer focus to their team and clarity to their market. This, in turn, reduces confusion, inefficiencies, misallocation of resources, and the potential for significant losses.

At North Group, we “do” five things: Assessments, Development, Transitions, Transactions, and Hiring & Onboarding. Declaring what we do has enabled us to intentionally develop each service area so we can deliver the best possible service to our clients. It has also given clarity to each team member, enabling us to focus and elevate the value we bring in each area.

So… what do you do?