Direction: Going Somewhere Real?

Direction: Going Somewhere Real?

The third question asks: are we actually moving toward outcomes?

Motion vs. Progress

It's possible to be very busy without making progress. In fact, it's common.

Direction isn't about activity. It's about movement toward something that matters.

The symptoms of lost direction are familiar:

- Revisiting the same decisions repeatedly

- "Let's loop back on that"

- Priorities that shift faster than work can be completed

- Effort that doesn't accumulate toward outcomes

What Direction Requires

Clear direction requires:

A destination: Not a detailed specification, but a genuine understanding of what "done" or "better" looks like.

A path: Not a perfect plan, but a sense of the next steps that move toward the destination.

Feedback: Information about whether you're actually getting closer or not.

Authority to adjust: The ability to change course as you learn.

When any of these is missing, motion becomes circular.

The Goal Debt Problem

Many teams suffer from "goal debt"—they've accumulated more commitments than they can fulfill, more priorities than they can focus on.

When everything is a priority, nothing is.

Direction requires the discipline to say: "Here's what we're actually moving toward this quarter. Here's what we're not doing, or doing later."

False Direction

Some things that look like direction but aren't:

Busy roadmaps: Lists of features don't create direction. Understanding what problem you're solving does.

Ambitious targets: "10x growth" isn't direction if no one knows the next step.

Mission statements: Values matter, but abstract purpose doesn't replace concrete goals.

Detailed plans: A 200-page plan that no one believes isn't direction—it's ritual.

Finding Real Direction

Real direction often emerges from asking simpler questions:

- What would be different if we succeed?

- What's the next thing we need to learn or accomplish?

- How will we know we're making progress?

- What are we explicitly not doing?

These questions are harder than they seem. They require honest assessment of constraints and genuine prioritization.

Direction Without Certainty

You don't need to know the full path to have direction. You just need to know:

- What you're moving toward

- What the next step is

- How you'll learn if it's working

That's enough to navigate. You adjust as you go.

When Direction Is Lost

If direction has been lost, don't pretend otherwise. The conversation is:

- "We seem to be going in circles"

- "What are we actually trying to accomplish?"

- "What's the one thing we need to get right this week/month/quarter?"

Sometimes admitting lost direction is what restores it.