Blue Elevator Blog

The Paradigm of Pursuit

There is a certain “paradigm of pursuit.”

Most likely, this phrase will bring nothing to mind.  Its definition and meaning are actually hard to define.  The phrase eludes easy definition.  And the concept itself eludes many business owners and the organizations they lead.

Let’s dig in.

What is a Paradigm?

The Webster-Mirriam dictionary gives the following definition for the word paradigm: “A theory or group of ideas about how something should be done, made, or thought about.”

The paradigm of pursuit is this: what we pursue eludes us.

I’ll submit there might be several reasons for this observance.  The main reason is the results we desire are by-products of successful endeavors – not the endeavors in and of themselves.

Why Are You And Your Organization in Business?

If you ask a lot of business owners the above question, some will probably tell you “to make money.”

And, the parallel to this would be a similar personal question: why do you exist as a person?

Every soul has a God-given purpose.  Some people have an idea of what their purpose might be.  And, if not, they would at least acknowledge that there is supposed to be a purpose.  But, hopefully, not very many people would tell you their purpose in life is “to breathe.”

• We have to breathe to live, but breathing isn’t your sole purpose.
• Similarly, your business has to make money to survive, but making money isn’t your sole purpose.  Making money helps your organization fulfill its purpose.

Are You Pursuing Your Purpose?

A business that exists solely for the pursuit of profit might find that profit is elusive.  You see, profit is a reward or a by-product for a job well done.  Even, a necessity to continue as a going-concern.

A Practical Example

Here’s an example.  If you are looking to make or have fire, you don’t go looking for fire.  You identify and gather a fuel source (kindling and wood).  You harness oxygen (the air we breathe).  And, you create a spark.  If you become adept at the process of assembling these elemental ingredients, you can create as much or as many fires as you need.

All too often, organizations go in search of fire, but where they really need to focus is both identifying and learning the process of making fire.

Like it or not, whether you are a start-up or a Fortune 500 company, your organization has a default process.  It’s what you have been doing lately.  If you have the results that you want, bravo.  If you don’t, you can’t go in search of resultant by-products of success.

Instead, be encouraged to identify the right ingredients and recipe for creating success.  Focus on perfecting the ingredients and the recipe.  God willing, this will help you create the by-products and the outcomes you desire.

A Relational Example

The principle can be illustrated in another way.  This theory was promulgated by noted Psychologist, Dr. James Dobson – and it has to do with relationships.

Let’s assume that Person A desires to have a relationship with Person B.  And if Person A pursues Person B relentlessly, everyday, with phone calls, texts, and e-mails, what is the likely outcome?

Let’s personalize it.  How would you feel about a person if when you woke up, there were three texts from him/her pursuing a business transaction with you?  And what if you received three phone calls from this well-meaning person during the day?  And then you received three e-mails in the same day?  Would he/she endear himself/herself to you, or would you say, “Beat it”?  This is the point.  Directly “pursuing” people or things might actually push them away.

It’s okay to pursue an end result.  But in this case, you just have to make sure that what you are focusing on is both the elemental values and the process that cultivate the desired outcome.  Make sense?

The Concept Isn’t Simple, Nor is its Implementation Easy

You see, what makes business challenging is that every organization, every CEO, every team, and every market is continually changing.  One of the reasons we don’t have a cure for the common cold is that the cold virus is continually changing.  Every business has a different recipe for creating fire, so to speak.

In business, you will need to continually Innovate™ your business to create maximum engagement.  Nothing stays the same – save for God-given principles.  But, the applications and techniques of applying those principles continually change.  The secret formula that businesses need to create and scale engagement is continually changing.

The challenge is to identify the right paradigm of pursuit, or find the perfect recipe, as it were, for starting and growing your organization’s engagement.  You want to find the key drivers behind successful engagement and pursue relationships where you endear – and not repel – the people you want to engage.

Every organization will eventually plateau if it is not constantly attenuating its engagement protocol.  At Blue Elevator™, we help our Member clients Innovate™, Accelerate™, and Replicate™ (e.g., scale).

In essence, starting and growing a business is akin to having to create and perfect your own special recipe, even while all of the ingredients are constantly changing.

Encouragements

In your endeavors, be encouraged to do the following things:

• Focus on causational activity vs. resultant by-products.  Learn how to make fire vs. wandering around hoping to find fire.
• Don’t sell, ply, or coerce prospects to “buy” from you and your organization.
• Instead, focus on initiating and nurturing relationships so that people buy from you and your organization when they are ready.

Admittedly, there is a paradigm of pursuit.  Be encouraged to think about the tenets and principles outlined in this article and how they relate to you and your organization.

Are you pursuing end game by-products or are you focusing on the drivers that help create the results that you want?  Once you have wrestled with this concept, we’d invite you to read a follow-on article called: Take AME.

The Underlying Principles

When it comes to the paradigm of pursuit, the means justify the ends.  Here is a trustworthy saying:

• But wisdom is proved right by all her children. – Luke 7:35

To me, this suggests you’ll know when you have it right when the activity of carrying out your plan generates the results that you desire.

And here is another trustworthy saying:

• Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. – Proverbs 21:21
  

As the verse suggests, if you want life, prosperity and honor, your focus or pursuit should be righteousness and love.

Be encouraged to go and do likewise.

Share with us how you are doing in your endeavors by contacting us here.  Let us know if we can encourage you or help you in any way.