Are We At An Inflection Point?

Photo by John O'Nolan on Unsplash

Are we at an Inflection Point?

According to Investopedia, an Inflection Point is “an event that results in a significant change in the progress of a company, industry, sector, economy, or geopolitical situation and can be considered a turning point after which a dramatic change, with either positive or negative results, is expected to result.”

I’ve been thinking about this as it does feel like we’re in one at the moment. Depending on who you listen to, things are about to commence a material decline or, quite the opposite, begin to pick up and improve.

Of course, looking at data isn’t as helpful as you’d think. There are a host of variables you can consider and, again, depending on the ones you pick, the answers can be quite different. (Note that that doesn’t mean that data provides no value. Quite the contrary, it’s super helpful in informing us about all of the possible parameters. You just need to assess it carefully.)

So what do we do? 

Personally, I think inflection points are a chance to double down on our core mission. And we can do so by regularly asking ourselves a few key questions.

What are we focused on delivering? What change are we driving in those we serve? It’s important to use these questions as our North Star - to guide us and determine whether the changes we make, the actions we take, are aligned with where we are trying to go. Anything that diverts us from this mission, by definition, is a distraction.

Are we listening to those at the coalface, so to speak? Are we absorbing insights from those closest to the customer, who are hearing regularly from those we serve? This is the real insight. If we’re seeing movement in one direction or the other, that tells us something.

Can we spread our fingers across multiple pies? Can we test the waters with experiments in multiple directions (but still aligned with our overall strategy) so that we can turn on a dime as needed, as we learn more about what’s going on? This is risk management 101, of course, but it’s important to reiterate that the experiments need to be aligned with our core strategy.

Are we living within our means? This is important: if we’re regularly focused not only on revenue but profitability, we’re going to know how much headroom we have. By managing to live within our means, we’ll be able to pick and choose our risks, know our limitations and ensure survival, no matter how the economic environment turns out.