When we are about to start a personal, entrepreneurial, corporate, or community project, we choose two paths: either we complicate our lives with very tangled scenarios that leave us with the certainty that we should not do it, or we tend to oversimplify the projections and we are convinced to continue. That is, we become extremely pessimistic or overly optimistic. Not everything is a Gordian knot nor is everything a simple straight line. It seems to me that both perspectives are risky. You need to have the right approach to find new opportunities. Of course, there is an incontrovertible fact: not all projects are destined for greatness. That does not mean that we should reject them or condemn them to the darkness of oblivion. And, for example, just look at nature.
Sharks, whales, dolphins and small clownfish coexist in the sea. If small fish in the sea serve as food for large fish, how do they survive? Simple, they stay away from danger, they stay united: they swim together in shoals that follow the same direction and protect each other as they gain strength. If the lion is the king of the jungle, wolves group together in packs and if they need to attack a larger predator, they do so in groups. That is, they focus on their strengths to take advantage of new opportunities. Knowing that not all of our projects will be lions is starting off on the right foot. Condemning a project to oblivion because it is a wolf and not a lion would be an absolute mistake.
We can compete by being fish and not sharks. There is a market for everyone. The trick is to know how we should do it. Undoubtedly, nature is wise. If the pack wants to defeat a stronger enemy, it will not send its wolverines, nor will it send only the strongest one to accomplish the mission. He will recruit the most capable and in that condition he will seek to succeed. This is how they manage to defeat the buffaloes that are more powerful than them. The approach to finding new opportunities is called concentration. The sum of our own forces is the way to achieve our goals.
Concentration is a strategy that focuses on the best point of attack. The Trojan prince Paris managed to overcome the fury of Achilles by firing an accurate arrow that hit him in the heel that was his weak point. It is quite possible that, if Paris had engaged in a hand-to-hand fight against Achilles, he would have lost. The rule of concentration means understanding what resources we need to gather to generate a competitive advantage that will help me succeed. This military tactic used by Paris teaches us that regardless of the size or strength of a company, we are the ones who must pay attention to our resources, measure our possibilities well and have that aim to hit the target.
In this sense, clarity is a very important asset. We have to pay attention to our effectiveness and our efficiency. In other words, it is a priority to know and understand what we want to achieve, as well as how and why we want to achieve it. We need to focus on the goals we are going to achieve and never lose sight of them. In the same way, it is very important to decide where we are going to put our resources to dare to enter the market.
In this sense, it is important to know our project, our market and our own possibilities well. Self-deception is the worst enemy. Whoever develops a project based on his weaknesses is like someone who builds a castle on sandy ground. Beyond the beauty of the building, there is the ground that will not be able to support the foundations and will end up demolishing the project.
Vulnerability is not hidden, like someone who wants to cover the sun with a finger. On the contrary, it is necessary to know it in order to face it. It is not a question of putting in the effort, as they say in colloquial terms, or of decreeing that it will not affect us. The zebras who, knowing that the river is infested with crocodiles and decide to cross it, are dooming themselves to die.
I understand that when we plan, we seek to imagine the brightest of scenarios. To fantasize about our projects is to imagine the best version we can prefigure. However, we need to keep our feet on the ground. Which attributes do we want to achieve and which may not be so important? Checking off a checklist helps us stay vigilant and focused on what is a priority and what we can overlook, understanding that not everything is possible.
Every business wants to grow. All. The strength of development is understanding that growing doesn't always mean being the biggest competitor but the smartest. This concept can be presented in a variety of ways. The simplest is achieved by understanding our consumer. That is the route that brings us closer to success. If we are able to meet your needs, we will be able to find new opportunities.
This means finding a new market niche, finding the level of specialization or generalization that is required at a given time, being the one with the fastest response or the best price, giving the style that is required, delivering the most generous portion. There is no single, universal answer. The path is dictated by the needs we are solving for our consumers. They are the ones who will call the shots.
To do this, we must be clear and persevering. Clarity in who we are will make our clients understand what they can expect from us. Perseverance will ensure that the project has its rooting period and prepares it to grow and bear flowers and fruits. Without anticipating or delaying vespers. The right approach to finding new opportunities is not to be the fiercest in the jungle or the biggest in the ocean: it is to astutely understand what we are, what we want to do, and get down to work to achieve it.