How to Sharpen Your 'What You Want to Do' for SME Owners

Recently, I have had more opportunities to meet with business owners whose 'what I want to do' is so scattered that the dots look like a pointillist painting.

Whether due to the influence of AI and information overload leading to excessive input, feelings of impatience, or conversely, the eagerness to jump at every opportunity, the causes may vary, but I believe there is a definite trend of 'what I want to do' increasing.

'What you want to do,' which is one of the three elements of management, is certainly better to have than not. It is definitely easier to give shape to management when it exists, and it also has a significant impact on the motivation of the owner and employees.

However, on the other hand, if that 'what you want to do' is too dispersed, limited resources in an SME will lead to fighting battles on multiple fronts that cannot be won, which could lead to repeated losses. This might be fine if you have sufficient corporate strength or the steel-like mentality of an owner, but the employees on the front lines of these battles will definitely become exhausted.

In this article, I would like to explain how SME owners can sharpen their 'what they want to do' through case studies.

• Those who have many things they want to do but cannot narrow them down

• Those who want to realize many things they want to do together with their employees

• Those who do not yet have something they want to do but want to find it

Recommended for such SME owners.

■ Conclusion:

Let's clarify the dependency relationships between ideas and projects using the 'Tool or Goal' approach*.

*The 'Tool or Goal' approach is a term I coined.

■ Case 1: The difference between diversification and wandering

⚫︎ Owner A of a certain retail business

・Operates a complex shop in a regional city handling lifestyle goods, food, and DIY-related products. ・Started new businesses a few years ago such as: ・Operating membership-based experiential cottages nationwide ・Producing rental spaces utilizing vacant houses ・Launching an inbound tourism media (Web) that promotes regional charm

The owner's 'what I want to do':

・'I want to create a flow of people in the region and turn vacant assets into value.' ・'I want to accelerate diversification by involving inbound tourism and create jobs for employees.'

Problem structure:

・Each business is interesting and seems viable individually, but it is not communicated within the company 'how they are connected.' ・Each project looks like a 'one-off challenge,' making it difficult for employees to have a sense of purpose or synergy.

Support approach:

・Articulate and organize the 'utilization structure of internal resources' and 'monetization methods and scale' for every business.
・Ask whether each initiative or business is a tool for something else or the ultimate goal of that business, and sort them accordingly.
・Priorities, facts, hypotheses, and KPIs for each initiative were organized, which also increased the sense of conviction among the staff.

⚫︎Breaking free from aimlessness and seeing a vision for true diversification

I was able to elevate the company from a state of aimlessness under the guise of diversification to a state of strategic diversification that fully utilizes the company's resources and strengths.

Since executing a strategy is essentially 'hypothesis testing,' it can be said that Company A's battle has only just begun, but the fact that employees and management are now on the same page is a very significant first step.

■Case 2: The difference between multi-branding and dabbling

⚫︎A young owner, B, of a metal processing manufacturer aiming to become a product brand

Company Overview:
・A manufacturer that has been doing BtoB contract manufacturing for nearly 20 years, with precision metal processing as its strength.
・Following a generational change, they have begun to challenge themselves in the BtoC sector and in creating their own brands for planned products.

The owner's 'what I want to do':

・'I want to spread the possibilities of manufacturing to the world more.'
・'I want to create products with a
social impact
in areas like education, disaster prevention, and outdoor activities.'・'I want to release products with a story that are also particular about their appearance.'・'I want to be recognized as a value-proposition company rather than just a factory.'

Structure of the problem:

・There are many prototype ideas, and development is grounded, but resources and plans are scattered, and no one has a grasp of the whole picture.
・Breakthrough power and synergy are being sacrificed due to the dispersion of resources.
　　・Because breakthrough power and synergy are weak, the owner's storytelling does not resonate with any customers.

Support approach:

・First, have them talk freely to inventory all ideas currently under consideration.
　　・Sort them into whether they are tools or goals
・It was discovered that the key to the first step was to pattern and standardize the new product development process itself.
・In the medium to long term, we drew a picture where the owner acts as a hub, bringing everything together into a single community or narrative.

⚫︎Elevating from dabbling to a 'multi-brand mass production' system

Meeting various people, going to various places, being showered with stimulation, and reflecting everything from dabbling into products. From this state of dabbling, through articulation and sorting into tools or goals, I arrived at the idea of standardizing the product development process with simple ideas and mechanisms. From there, even with the same input as before, the points and criteria to be utilized in product development became clear, so it was elevated to a style of 'multi-brand mass production'.

■Summary: What is necessary to 'pare down' what you want to do

'What you want to do' cannot be narrowed down by comparison alone

People who have countless things they want to do can answer if asked straight out, 'What is the number one thing you want to do among them?', but they cannot execute it. Because it is hard to discard any of them.Even if you compare and select based only on the magnitude of your desire, your decision-making can change just by the wavering of your feelings.

That is why it is necessary to design 'what you should do (= strategy)'.

However, unless you are naturally skilled at it, it is quite difficult to be conscious of what you should do (strategy), so for those people, I recommend the 'Tool or Goal' approach.

Is this initiative positioned as a tool (means) for something, or is the achievement of the initiative itself the goal (purpose)? You should ask this for each individual idea or activity and sort them accordingly.

It is steady work and takes time, and if you do it alone, it will likely become vague and not go well. The trick is to do it together with someone who will honestly tell you the hard truths..

That is all.

I hope this is helpful.

See you later 🖐️