The 5 Pillars of The Art of Navigation

Photo via unsplash. com

I can’t say that The Art of Navigation was planned, rather it has evolved over many years of practice working with SME software companies. Through my experience I have, admittedly, made made innumerable mistakes. The positive is that I have constantly fed back and “corrected my course” the more work I have done, turning these mishaps into valuable learnings.  

I have recently shared insights about my mistakes in the startup world and how they might be of help, on why being a solo entrepreneur is so hard and about better approaches to goal selection, among many more.

But what exactly is the practice that underlies how The Art of Navigation has developed? Here are the five pillars supporting my work: 

PERSPECTIVE

It’s often difficult to receive honest, constructive feedback when you need it most, to get out of your head and see things as they really are - to see the wood for the trees. As a navigator, I come with a different viewpoint that I can use to help bridge this gap. We’ll develop new insights and explore how to make more profitable use of what you find.

WISDOM

As a CEO you are expected to know everything about your business and the challenges that inevitably come up. But no one can master it all; sooner or later everyone finds themselves facing a problem or decision that they are not sure how to handle. As a navigator, with the experience of many different kinds of journey, I can help you figure out what works and how to learn from what doesn’t. 

SUPPORT

Being CEO can very often mean being alone. Your Board may be red hot at cash flow and telling you why what you are doing isn’t working, less often do they tell you what to do about it. Then again, it can be hard to admit to employees that you are confused and don’t see clearly the road ahead. Perhaps you are lucky to have a mentor, but you don’t see them enough and they are not involved enough to give you the help you really need? Being a navigator means supporting the captain, acting as a sounding board, creative foil and someone to turn to when things get difficult.  

VALUE

You are ambitious, you want an effective business, and you want a business that delivers on your personal financial and impact goals. This means that your products and services must generate significant value, while keeping cost of production and delivery constrained. In the software world this is very hard to do. At the heart of The Art of Navigation is a system intended to design-in value at all levels and to create products and services that fit customer needs better, leading to more value for you. 

SYSTEM

All the wisdom and insight in the world is no good if you can’t make it work for you. This is the reason why I developed the COMPASS (Customer, Operations, Mission, Perspective, Advantage, Strategy, and Software) system. It’s a recipe for designing a high-impact software businesses and products that combines a set of tools and with a framework for using them. Using the COMPASS system will help you learn what works and what doesn’t, and it will ensure that your resources are focused on your best chance of success and significant ROI.

My mission is to help those who want to do great things using software, to help them achieve their aims, and to avoid costly mistakes.

I hope the above helps to articulate why I am so enthusiastic about what I am doing. 

Intrigued by The Art of Navigation? Have you got a good story to share? I’d love to hear from you.

Find me on LinkedIn Follow me on Twitter Join my Mailing list