So
wants,
strengths
and
context
are
the
3
things
with
which
we
connect
individually.
Now
for
the
3
platforms
for
successful
business
structuring:
1)
The
first
platform
is
to
the
nature
of
the
business
that
we
are
in.
If
our
business
is
aligned
correctly
to
our
wants,
our
strengths
and
our
context
we
have
every
chance
of
succeeding.
Note
that
I
say,
the
nature
of
our
business,
not
the
type
or
category
of
business
we
are
in.
They
mean
different
things
to
the
entrepreneur.
As
an
example,
the
nature
of
my
own
educational
publishing
business
is
one
that
requires
a
process
including
production,
content
development,
product
development,
author
alignment,
sales
strategies
and
delivery.
The
actual
types
of
products
in
terms
of
mathematics
or
science
textbooks
are
not
as
relevant
to
my
connection
to
the
business
as
the
nature
of
the
business.
This
is
a
good
thing
as
I
was
extremely
bad
at
these
subjects
at
school!
A
salon
owner
who
is
a
passionate
hairstylist
might
be
very
connected
to
the
type
of
business
they
own
in
terms
of
hair
design,
but
might
find
him
or
herself
largely
disconnected
to
the
nature
of
the
business,
which
includes
a
high
staff
and
client
turnover
and
product
management.
As
a
business
mentor
I
know
that
entrepreneurs
who
find
themselves
consistently
struggling
to
run
their
businesses
successfully
(known
as
level
(a)
and
(b)
entrepreneurs
in
EnQ)
are
often
just
disconnected
to
the
nature
of
their
business
and
too
connected
to
the
type
of
product
or
service
offered.
2)
The
second
platform
is
our
why,
for
3
reasons.
Firstly,
being
securely
connected
to
our
“why”
as
the
business
leader
provides
us
with
essential
entrepreneurial
traits
such
as
resilience,
passion
and
drive.
Secondly,
our
employees
need
to
be
connected
to
our
“why”
before
they
can
really
assist
us
with
the
“what”
and
“how”.
Thirdly,
our
sales,
marketing
and
customer
service
initiatives
need
to
be
about
understanding
how
our
clients
might
connect
to
our
“why”.
This
idea
is
beautifully
presented
in
the
Simon
Sinek
tedtalk
at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sioZd3AxmnE
where
he
cites
Apple
as
an
example
of
the
strength
of
the
“why”
connection.
3)
The
third
platform
is
strategic
alliance.
We
just
cannot
build
a
successful
organization
on
our
own
and
we
need
to
ally
with
others
in
many
different
ways
to
achieve
the
growth
we
need
to
earn
the
returns
that
we
seek.
These
alliances
are
not
just
with
our
long
term
business
partners,
employees
and
clients
but
also
those
who
we
might
partner
with
for
limited
periods
of
time
or
on
certain
projects
for
mutual
benefit.
Strategic
means
that
we
have
a
very
specific
agenda
behind
the
alliance
and
if
we
connect
accurately
on
this
platform
these
alliances
can
be
very
powerful.
As
business
leaders,
if
we
understand
connection,
individually
and
collectively-‐
we
understand
strategic
alliances,
motivation
and
productivity.
These
three
factors
will
have
an
enormous
influence
on
our
business
success.