Coordinates are Critical to make that 10X Journey

A friend of mine is a huge photography enthusiast. Every time when she shows up, she’s carrying an impressive bag and his DSLR.

​The first time I met her I asked what was in the impressive bag. Yes, the answer was obvious. 7 different optics for the camera. She is a professional photographer, and what she said next was profound.

A critical skill of succeeding with any craft is to choose the right optics that suit the specific situation and need.

After I last met her before the quarantines, it occurred to me that it’s exactly the same thing with leading a business or even doing software testing.

In software testing, you can choose to dive incredibly deep into specific areas of the software at hand. Or you can choose to take an overlook of the whole product. It’s all about the skill of deciding and using your testing optics.

In running a business, you can choose to look at the big picture like the revenue and profit scores. Or you can choose to dive deep into specific expense structures too. It’s all about the skill of deciding and using your business optics.

Each optic you add to your impressive bag is a result of learning and practice. First comes the idea, then you start practicing how to use the idea in real life.

In the last post I talked about the Navigator Principle. All journeys start by finding your true coordinates. Only then it becomes relevant to decide on the destination and to plot the route. It’s all about the right optics!

For me and the business I run, the goal for this decade is to survive the covid-19 and then thrive to 10x the business. As promised, here are my most relevant coordinates where the journey begins.

• Prove Expertise Ltd just turned 14 years in January. We have 37 employees at the moment, most of whom are software testing professionals.
• Our revenue for the first quarter Q1/2020 was 786.000€. To zoom in this optic, our subcontracting business ran a revenue of 499.000€ (63%) while our Testing Lab 287.000€ (37%).
• Our overall profit for the quarter was 36.000€ (4,6% of revenue)
• Due to covid-19 outbreak we have so far lost only one project temporarily.
• As sales drives our future success, the situation seems to be in balance. Only one sales meeting has been cancelled due to covid-19.
• If you wish to understand more of our numbers, please don’t hesitate to ask! I’d be glad to share all numbers and info that I can dig up!

I believe that accountability is the unlock of progress, that is why personal trainers usually produce results in fitness.

For this reason I have two main ways to stay accountable with this 10X goal. Documenting the journey in a blog + having a weekly 30minute call with a coach who will keep me accountable.

Seeing the road ahead is critical for success.

As choosing and using the right optics is critical to seeing better, I want to leave you with just one question.

Which optics should you learn and practice next?