Originally written by Santiago Holley, republished here with permission.

Navigating the AI Frontier: Why Your Purpose is Your North Star, Not the Hype

The dawn of a new technological era is upon us, with Artificial Intelligence leading the charge. The buzz is palpable, promising transformative shifts across industries. Conferences like BlackHat amplify this buzz, showcasing cutting-edge advancements and the latest market trends. But for companies and startups, this moment presents a crucial question: are you building with purpose, or simply chasing the latest AI trend? Getting caught up in the hype without a clear vision and purpose can be a fatal misstep. History offers cautionary tales, from the rise and fall of Theranos, which garnered immense investment based on hype rather than a viable product, to the challenges faced by Groupon, where rapid value tumble led to a CEO’s departure. This highlights the peril of immediate trend-following, regardless of actual fit.

This article isn’t about the what or how of AI; it’s about the why, the fundamental reason your company exists, especially as we navigate this exciting, uncertain future.

The Peril of Hype Without Purpose

When I was a kid, I imagined that we would have flying cards by 2025. What I did not imagine was the capabilities that AI has provided us. In our current environment of rapid technological change, especially evident at events like BlackHat last week where new technology is constantly unveiled, it’s easy to immediately follow a new trend, regardless of whether it truly suits your company’s needs. This “trendiness” can be a trap. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can lead to poor decisions, as seen with companies attracting massive investment based on hype rather than sound fundamentals. Shady entrepreneurs can exploit this dynamic, hyping their companies and making it seem like “cool kids” are backing them, luring others to jump in for fear of being left out.

True greatness isn’t achieved by merely adopting the latest technology, but by thoughtfully considering how it contributes to your core mission. If a company consistently grows faster than its ability to get the right people, it will fall. Similarly, if your purpose goes fuzzy, your decisions can become unfocused and dilute your company’s original inspiration, leading to a “split” where the clarity of your ‘WHY’ diminishes as your ‘WHAT’ grows. This is also echoed in the concept of “uncalibrated cannonballs” in strategy, where pursuing ideas without prior validation can lead to disaster.

What is Your “WHY”?

Your “WHY” is your company’s fundamental reason for existence, its the ultimate reason for being. It’s not about making money; that’s a result. It’s about what cause or belief drives your company. This purpose provides meaning to work and is a powerful motivating force. Extraordinary individuals, much like extraordinary companies, are driven by a sense of personal purpose that can never be fully completed.

Consider the Collins-Porras Vision Framework, which emphasizes that a good vision consists of core values, purpose, and mission. Your purpose is the guiding star, always out there on the horizon, never fully attainable, but always pulling you forward. In contrast, a mission is a specific, achievable goal, like climbing a particular mountain on the way to that star. It is essential for organizations to consistently articulate and reinforce this sense of noble purpose, telling stories of how employees make a difference in customers’ lives.

Great companies are often rooted in human values, making it easier to evangelize their products. Your “WHY” should clarify the emotional drive behind your work, not just the logical steps. This emotional drive creates a powerful connection with employees and customers alike, fostering loyalty and sustained effort.

How to Find and Focus Your Purpose in the AI Era:

Craft a Mantra, Not a Slogan: Instead of a lengthy mission statement, articulate your startup’s mantra in two to four words that explain why your company exists and how it does good for customers and society. Mantras should be uplifting and outwardly focused, explaining what you do for customers and society, not just for personal gain. This approach emphasizes simplicity, as a business model should be describable in ten words or fewer, avoiding jargon that obscures true value.

Define Your Hedgehog Concept: Great companies tend to be “hedgehogs” rather than “foxes”, they focus on one big thing. Your Hedgehog Concept lies at the intersection of three circles:

1. What you’re deeply passionate about.
2. What you can be the best in the world at.
3. What best drives your economic engine.

This clarity helps you avoid being sidetracked by trends, fashions, and idealized self-perceptions, allowing you to focus your efforts on a single core competency. Companies that fail to become great often deal with too many projects and enterprises, lacking consistency and focus.

“First Who, Then What”: This is perhaps the most crucial principle. Get the right people on the bus before figuring out where to drive it. In times of chaos, turbulence, and uncertainty, your best “strategy” is a team of disciplined, adaptable people who can perform brilliantly regardless of what comes next. The number one metric to track isn’t revenue or profit, but the percentage of key seats filled with the right people. This aligns with the “Multipliers” philosophy, which states that there is more intelligence within organizations than is typically utilized, and great leaders know how to see, use, and grow the intelligence of others. I observed this first hand from BlackHat after meeting many other founders, one thing is clear, having the right talent, particularly those with deep expertise in AI or cybersecurity, is paramount. As a startup founder myself, choosing co-founders, for instance, should be done as carefully as choosing a spouse, focusing on making the startup stronger rather than just enhancing fundability. It’s better to have too few founders than too many, as breaking up with them can be very difficult. Studies show that diverse prior company experience among co-founders can lead to more innovative “exploration” strategies, which is crucial in rapidly changing fields like AI. Conversely, teams with too much homogeneity, like business school classmates with similar backgrounds, can miss critical insights and gaps in industry knowledge.

Be an “Armchair Anthropologist” and Find Your “Earned Secret”: Backable founders show where the world is headed and how their idea fits into that larger shift. They don’t just jump to the solution; they first demonstrate the inevitable macro trends that make their solution relevant now. Founders who succeed often base their ideas not on online research, but on personal experience that leads to a surprising insight. This requires going deeper than a quick search; it means setting up interviews with experts, taking trips, or joining relevant organizations to uncover insights that most people don’t know, by personally immersing yourself in the story. The “how you arrived at an idea can be as memorable and important as the idea itself”. For example, the founders of Airbnb gained their initial insight by renting out air mattresses during a conference when hotels were booked, not from market analysis. My direct engagement at BlackHat, seeing what others might miss or dismiss as “too niche”, is exactly this kind of immersive research and a take away recommendation for people attending events like this.

Have Vision, Not “Visions”: There’s a critical difference between a founder who has a clear vision and one who is merely “having visions” (i.e., ungrounded, unfocused ideas). Your vision should be rooted in where the world is going, not just where you think it should go. Steve Jobs didn’t create a trend with the iPhone; he accelerated one. Similarly, Wayne Gretzky famously said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be”. This means understanding the inevitable shifts and how your idea aligns with them. For instance, WeWork initially grew based on inevitable shifts like the explosion of the freelance economy and the distribution of corporate workforces. However, its vision blurred when the founder expanded into unrelated areas, losing focus on where the world was truly headed.

Focus on Solving Customer Pain and Making Meaning: Your product should alleviate pain or enable people to do things they never could before. When articulating your value proposition, translate your business into a single, clear, compelling message that explains why your company is different and why your product is worth buying. This emotional connection is more powerful than just listing features, as it addresses “the meaning that you make” for customers. For new markets, this means focusing on the “problem and opportunity,” rather than looking like a solution searching for a problem. Disruptive technologies often enable new markets by addressing different performance attributes (e.g., lower cost, smaller size, convenience) initially irrelevant to mainstream customers, creating new value networks.

Iterate and Be Flexible, but Don’t Give Up on the Company: Be prepared to kill, revise, or evolve specific ideas, but never give up on the company itself. The ability to pivot based on market feedback is essential, as demonstrated by various types of pivots such as “zoom-in pivots” (refocusing on a single feature), “value capture pivots” (changing monetization), or “channel pivots” (altering distribution methods). The goal is a repeatable and scalable business model. Working in small batches allows for quicker identification and fixing of quality problems, similar to Toyota’s andon cord system, which ultimately leads to higher quality and lower costs. This iterative process builds momentum, much like turning a giant flywheel, where each effort contributes to accelerating the overall progress and achieves breakthroughs. Self-awareness is key for founders here; even if you think you’re on the wrong path, a high degree of self-awareness telegraphs to supporters that you will “figure it out” and course-correct.

Embrace the “Game of Now”: Don’t let the feeling of “I’m not ready” hold you back. Start taking action. Those who’ve changed the world weren’t always “ready”; they just started. Prototype now, seek forgiveness later. This means translating hypotheses into data by interacting directly with customers, as “the facts are with your customers”. Being too early in a market can be a challenge, so if you’re the first mover, ensure you act as your own “market maker” and don’t get benchmarked against lesser ideas.

As you integrate AI and cybersecurity trends into your strategy, let your core purpose be the unwavering guide. It will help you make difficult decisions, attract the right talent who believe in your mission, and ultimately build an enduring, great company that can withstand the ever-shifting technological tides.

The following authors and books provide a deeper analysis of these concepts:

• • Backable by Suneel Gupta
  • Burn the Boats by Matt Higgins
  • Beyond Entrepreneurship by Jim Collins
  • Start With Why by Simon Sinek
  • Multipliers by Liz Wiseman
  • Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
  • The Founder’s Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman
  • The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
  • The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Republished with permission from Santiago Holley. You can view the original article on LinkedIn here