“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” - The Cheshire Cat, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.

In the first blog entry, I said the “Where”, is the your end game, your destination. So, welcome to the end game, the place where it all begins.

Each year, high schools and colleges have their year end commencement ceremonies. I would venture to say that most students receiving a diploma never realize that the word “commencement” is synonymous with the words beginning, birth, dawn, kick-off and genesis. I would also venture to say, most college students never start their college journey with the end in mind. According to admissionsly.com “the first year college dropout rate is 30% in the US” and “89% of first generation low income students dropout [each year]”. Why is this relevant? It’s pretty simple, without a clear “Where” the odds of finishing what you start is pretty low. Furthermore, each finish is actually your next start. I’ve heard it said that roughly 50% of new small businesses fail in the first five years and roughly another 30% will fail within a decade.

College dropout rates, business failures and even relationships seldom survive without end game or big picture thinking. In business, this may be referred to as an exit strategy. An exist strategy is the plan or plans you make in the very beginning to exit that business or start up. Business owners with an exit strategy or clear end game, start and run their businesses completely different than businesses without a plan. I’ve been involved in negotiating deals to buy businesses that went downhill very quickly because the business owners didn’t have a proper exist strategy.

The businesses counted value where there was no value because the businesses weren’t built to sell. Check out the book “Built to Sell” by John Warrillow for more on building a business with an end game. One of the first start ups I was involved with end up being a set of handcuffs, obligating me to the day to day operations because I violated this rule.

Starting with the end in mind is crucial to any level of success in life. It may not eliminate every obstacle, however it will invoke the creativity necessary to move around obstacles that will pop up on your journey. Another key take away here is this, starting with the end in mind helps you lead with your best foot forward. It, in some ways gives you a head start on your goals. While your peers and associates fumble around in the dark with indecision, you’re off to races with your focus on the prize. That’s not to say that you can’t or won’t adjust your course along the way. It is to say, that any adjustments you do make will be in line with “where” you’re going and not your current location.

Well, until next week my friend. I look forward to jumping back into the “Where” of things with you.

Chris Chaney

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, do more, and become more, you are a leader...”

- John Quincy Adam

2.7.22