If you think this is an article about finding meaning in your life, you would be wrong. This article is about the companies and organizations where you devote your precious time and energy, and maybe your money as well.

Many of my clients, which represent over 40 industries and both for-profit and non-profit organizations, hire me for strategic planning. They know it is important to create clarity about who they are and what they are trying to accomplish. Without that clarity, they struggle. They waste time. They miss opportunities. They argue. They produce disappointing results. In short, they flounder.

They also know that hiring me is a good investment because they’ve seen strategic planning efforts consume months without getting the clarity they need to excel.

However, few recognize that clarity of purpose does not just apply to strategic planning.

• Millions of meetings are held every day without a clear purpose.
• Millions of committees meet regularly and toil laboriously while accomplishing nothing because they don’t really know what they are trying to accomplish.
• Employees are asked countless times each day to review plans or documents without any clarity as to whether they should be reviewing for accuracy, completeness, feasibility, compatibility with other groups, risks, brand impact, spelling and grammar, or the self-promotion and positioning of the writer.
• Employees struggle to impress without any idea of what would be seen as impressive.
• They play games with To-Do lists in the hopes of finding a trick that will magically save them from too many priorities.
• People are so frenzied that they have no time to think about what they are trying to accomplish. They have no time to innovate and find short cuts guided by a clear purpose. Instead, they blindly rush through their To-Do lists.

People need to be clear about what they are trying to accomplish at every moment of every day. If not, they struggle. They waste time. They miss opportunities. They argue. They produce disappointing results. In short, they flounder.

Executives are not immune. Many are also leading meetings with no purpose. They ask staff and peers to review plans and documents without clarifying the objective. They ask employees to do better without stipulating what “better” might look like. They neglect to give employees the strategic clarity needed to shrink To-Do lists. And they aren’t immune to the frenzy either. When executives do take time to reflect, the reflection often ends with a sigh, followed by business-as-usual, because they don’t know where to start in creating the missing clarity.

The first step to improvement is always to recognize the opportunity. The second step is committing to do something about it.

I help people create clarity throughout their organizations, not just at the 35,000 foot level through strategic planning. The most common way I do that is through my executive advisory services. My clients find that a well-timed phone call with me allows them to reflect, reframe, and make vital changes with confidence. Finding the kernel of clarity that creates a solid purpose and focus can make all the difference in the world. Interested? info@uncommonclarity.com.