In the fishing and hunting world, you’re always striving to put yourself on the ‘X’ – otherwise known as the ‘sweet spot.’ The most successful outdoorsmen I know have an uncanny ability to consistently put themselves in the right place at the right time and then take advantage of the opportunities when they occur.
When you’re hunting for big game like deer, elk, or moose, that sweet spot is often the convergence of trails between bedding and feeding areas that puts you downwind of the ideal ambush location. When duck hunting, the ‘X’ is simply where the birds want to land during a given period of time that offers them food, comfort, and security.
When I’m fishing a river, I’m looking for locations that provide fish with easy access to food and the security of deeper water that also contains boulders, wood, or weeds – the ‘spot within the spot’ so to speak.
Interestingly enough, the same principles apply in business. Successful companies work very hard to identify their ‘sweet spot.’ This requires a deep understanding of their market(s), the most attractive customer segments, well defined product features and benefits and clearly articulated positioning relative to their competition.
When you get it right, all of these elements come together to form your sweet spot – where your value proposition is strong and your customers are compelled to buy.
Identifying that ‘sweet spot’ and putting your company on the ‘X’ takes a combination of detailed analysis, well defined strategies, effective execution and ability to ‘see’ changes in real time so you can make course corrections quickly. This requires data and the use of visual analytics to provide the actionable insights you need to make informed decisions in real time. Using dashboards is a highly effective way to not only ‘find your X’, but to stay in that sweet spot in a dynamic market. That is exactly what the most successful hunters, fishermen (and women) and business leaders I know do on a daily basis.
That is the power of the ‘X.’
Jim Clark
Vice President, Professional Services