What don’t you do?

You can do so much as a business, and let’s face it, creating is exciting. When we answer the question, “So, what do you do?” it’s no wonder we emphasize the actions we take, the offerings we provide, and the things we make.

But in a world of endless possibilities, truly strategic businesses also define what they don’t do. Understanding and articulating these boundaries sharpens your focus and enhances your distinct value.

The challenge is that defining what you don’t do can feel negative and restraining. 

Defining your business means knowing what you do and don't do. In fact, what you don't do is crucial to sharpening your focus.

What’s the point?

As a business, you make choices based on something. Businesses in the value economy make choices based on a commitment to deliver value to the people they serve.

When you’re clear on the value you deliver, you can make deliberate choices about what gets your time because you know the point of your actions. And the value you deliver is distinct from other businesses. You’re doing something specific for a specific group of people to help them experience specific value.

Why boundaries are essential and invigorating

“You” refers not only to you as the leader. It refers to every single person on your team. 

Yes, you read that right. Every member of your team makes choices and thus plays an essential role in advancing or distracting your business. While we’ve traditionally put all of our emphasis on screw tightening to keep people in alighnment, the reality is that your people aren’t cogs in a machine — they’re individuals with agency. They also bring perspective, talent, and ideas that forced compliance tends to stifle. 

Boundaries give your team members the space to build their strategic decision-making skills, which they need because you cannot make all the decisions. Boundaries also provide them with the space required to test new ideas and adapt to new information, whether that’s input from the people you serve about how well your actions deliver value or a change in the world to which you must respond. 

Boundaries recognize that your business is a living, breathing organism trying to thrive in an economy that’s changing every moment. You will not be perfectly aligned all of the time because perfect is not real. But you can play within boundaries without losing your focus. 

That’s why boundaries are invigorating. They provide enough freedom to allow creativity and agency to flourish without letting people drift too far from your focal point.

What makes a boundary strategic

The idea isn’t to simply list all the things you don’t do. While it’s true that if you say yes to something, you say no to everything else you could have done with that time, the intent of setting boundaries isn’t to start a list that would go into infinity.

Strategic boundaries are choices. They are options that you could reasonably pursue but are choosing not to pursue because they prevent you from doing something truly time-wasting or damaging, allow you to increase your distinction, or help you to deepen the value you deliver — and as often as possible, do all three.

Define what you don’t do

Here are three questions to incorporate what you don’t do into your strategy:

1. Who do we not serve?

We’re told that we need to know our ideal customer and to make that as small a market as possible. We often dream up this ideal customer by way of an ideal customer profile or avatar, and then go out and try to find such a creature in the real world.

I support choosing a specific person to serve and articulating that as part of your business’s focus. I also encourage you to be explicit about  who you don’t serve. 

It’s possible that many of your customers won’t fit all the points in the ideal profile. Remember, it’s the ideal client, and perfect isn’t real. By knowing who you absolutely won’t serve, you form boundaries that keep you from straying too far from your ideal customer, which prevents you from diluting your business and struggling to deliver value. 

As an example, my company strategically chooses not to serve businesses that don’t have proven, profitable traction. We know the pace of a startup won’t fit well with our approach or culture. We also know that our analytical approach won’t work particularly well for them. Engaging a client who will disrupt my team and fail to benefit from our services is a lose-lose situation we choose to avoid.

2. What do we not offer?

If I had a quarter for every time a networking conversation started with, “Hi there! So what do you do?” I’d be a rich person. Alas, this isn’t how I want to earn my financial resources, but it’s a reality that reflects the need to articulate what you do — what actions you take and (hopefully) what value you deliver.

Talking about not doing something feels both limiting and negative for many business leaders. And yet, saying yes to everything is a short road to a nonstrategic culture. By stating what you won’t offer, you create boundaries that prevent you from doing things that don’t align with your capabilities, aren’t the best use of your time, or don’t deliver the value you exist to deliver. 

Moreover, what you don’t offer can provide value. Don’t believe me? Watch this commercial from Aldi. They intentionally decided not to offer an app with coupons. They’re making what they don’t do an integral aspect of their distinct value. Literally, “what they don’t do is for you.” 

It’s brilliant.

3. What behaviors do we not cultivate or tolerate?

How you do things can be as important as what you do.  Your “how” covers the methods you might employ as well as the behavior you exhibit. 

Getting every member of your team to behave in a strictly prescribed manner every single day is a fool’s errand. Getting them to stay within co-designed boundaries, however, is achievable and ultimately more effective.

When you set boundaries, you leave room for context and individual personality while simultaneously keeping people from behaving in a way that will undermine effective value delivery, erode your culture, or damage your reputation. Since you create your culture by repeating actions over time, preventing undesirable habits from taking root is essential.

One of my clients included the following in their strategic focus:

If 10% of people don’t agree, we march forward boldly. While we strive to bring everyone on board, we won’t let the 10% prevent us from getting things done.

While written in a positive tone, they’ve told their team that they don’t wait for consensus to move forward. This boundary will give the team a great deal of clarity on when they can consider a decision made and take action accordingly. 

Gaining strategic clarity

Setting boundaries is an essential part of designing and running a strategic business. When you know the value you exist to deliver, setting boundaries by identifying what you don’t do gives your team the space to test choices and adapt without losing focus. 

Far from being limiting, what you don’t do can provide the necessary framework for smarter decisions — and ultimately deeper value. 

➔ P.S. This post is based on a talk I gave through the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. Would you like me to deliver a keynote, talk, or workshop to your curious team or community? Send me a DM.

And if you’d like to learn more about how boundaries could make you more strategic, set up a call with me.

Katie Burkhart founded Point:Value, the only strategic company for the value economy. As an essentialist thinker, strategic facilitator, and thoughtful speaker, she helps you make the most of your time by asking better questions, starting with "What's the point?" For more of her thinking, connect with her on LinkedIn and subscribe to WTP.