We have now completed the Setup section. However, it is worth emphasizing that the Development and Setup stages are, in fact, two of the three most important steps in the entire cycle that ultimately leads to success. These are the stages that provide us with our capabilities and tools, define our position, and establish our foundations. In doing so, they also determine our threshold for success and our potential.
An initiative that performs some of the later stages poorly or incompletely may still succeed. In our view, however, no organization or initiative that fails to complete its development and setup properly can truly succeed. Even if it does, it will not be able to remain there.
So, what have we discussed so far? Let us summarize the Setup stage:
- Purpose, Goals, and Dream: Every organization or initiative must establish a clear distinction between these three concepts. It must define its purpose, goals, and dream with precision. Changing them later in the journey is like having the road extend endlessly beneath your feet as you walk.a. Purpose defines the reason the organization or initiative exists, along with its mission and vision.
b. Goals are the milestones and thresholds placed along the road.
c. Dream is the ultimate horizon envisioned for the organization or initiative—the highest level of success it can imagine. It must be realistic, but it does not have to be immediately attainable. You aim for the stars and reach Everest. - Understanding Our Reality: Every organization or initiative must understand the environment in which it operates. Every industry, field of work, and artistic discipline has different dynamics and criteria. Metaphorically, this is like mapping the terrain before beginning the journey.
- Living with Data: This is the requirement that feeds every other step. Every action taken, every reality interpreted, and every structure built must be grounded in data. Small victories may be achieved through instinct or sheer action, but lasting success cannot. Every organization or initiative must operate with data at all times.a. One must avoid Data Intoxication. Data, whether positive or negative, must be interpreted and investigated according to what is necessary, not according to what one wishes to see.
b. The distinction between the individual and the institution must be reflected clearly in the data.
c. Every field has its own data—and even its own methods of interpreting data. These must be analyzed and categorized with the appropriate expertise.
d. Data sources must be selected from the most accurate, reliable, and least misleading sources available.
e. Data Infrastructure must be designed according to the principles of sustainability and efficiency.
f. No data should be accepted without verification. - Scalability: Growth is not merely a nominal value. Just as a balloon without sufficient structural elasticity will burst as it expands, growth is only true growth when it can scale—when it can spread proportionately across every relevant area.
- Sustainability: Sustainability, together with our other two core principles, is one of the three most important pillars of success. It defines how long an organization or initiative can remain standing and how long its engine can continue to run.a. Resources are the largest variable here. The resources allocated to an initiative or organization directly affect its lifespan.
b. Resource dependency ratio indicates how dependent the initiative’s resources are on external factors or other people. The higher the dependency, the lower the level of control and sustainability.
c. Efficiency indicates how well resources and execution can be balanced, used over long periods, and converted into maximum output. As efficiency increases, sustainability increases.
d. Motivation refers to how motivated the people—the most valuable asset of any organization or initiative—are toward the work. It is one of the most variable, yet most decisive, factors. - Structures: This refers to how effectively organizational structures are designed in alignment with efficiency, sustainability, and data. These structures directly affect the speed of operations, overall efficiency, and the lifespan of the organization or initiative.
- Systemization: This means building the core engine that allows an organization or initiative to move forward without being overly dependent on individual people. Building the right system directly strengthens both sustainability and efficiency.
When all of these elements are applied together, in the correct order, every initiative or organization will have a solid foundation from which it can pursue success.
In the next stage, Maturation, we will explain how initiatives build strong bodies on top of these foundations.
