Context.

Ari Weinzweig on having a clear point-of-view ...

As marketer and author Seth Godin reminds us, humility is key: “Having a point of view is different from always being correct. No one is always correct.” What I’m talking about here is a focused worldview—a cooked-down, concentrated version of your philosophy—not a catchy slogan. A point of view, to my point of view, is a deeply held, strongly believed-in perspective—a well-thought-out and well-articulated sense of what it is you do so differently from nearly any other business.

How do you know it’s working? One way is that your organization is hitting its bottom lines. Another is that you refer to it—along with mission, vision, and guiding principles—when you make decisions. Tad Hargrave says, “One of the surest ways to know your point of view is solid is when people you share it with are visibly relieved. They were lost but now are found. They were blind but now can see.”

A few weeks ago, I referenced the British painter Rose Wylie—now going on 92—who says clearly and directly, “Contrast gives life.” Contrast also offers context. And as Hargrave notes, “The world is drowning in content. What your clients crave is context.” What does he mean? Pick your industry—there’s no end to the examples. Every supermarket has olive oil now! And yet, below, I write about a newly arrived oil at the Deli. Does the world need it? No. Do I need it? No. But it’s REALLY good, and if I did my writing work reasonably well, you’ll understand why it’s so special and worth at least swinging by the Deli to taste. Having clarity on a point of view makes it infinitely easier to communicate what you care about—and why it matters to anyone other than your mother.