Intention is everything…

… But the way that intention is communicated and the behaviour that follows is more important.

So, we all need to be reminded of something once in a while and today I bring before you… good old intention.

When is the last time you thought about your intentions behind your goals? And, your action plan is a plan of action because? In life and business there is always a purpose. Even if that purpose is to have no purpose. We do things for a reason. If other people are involved, and often they are crucial for achieving our intentions, then they need to agree with the reasons behind those goals. It is simply not enough to be in business now to have the ultimate purpose of ‘making money’. Especially online. As the general shift towards extreme transparency continues, publicly listed and private companies alike need to have clear intentions that stakeholders believe and agree with. In other words: in relationships, both parties need to have a shared vision of the intention.

Intention is easily communicated through mission statements (something every company should have regardless of size – even if you’re a one-person startup). Perhaps Google is the best (and most obvious) example of an entity that can communicate its intention through three little words: “Don’t be evil”. I use Google products on an hourly basis and I believe that despite some stories every now and again, they truly live by this motto.

Intention in my industry – publishing/media – is absolutely crucial to the product’s wellbeing. The problem is, most of the intentions conflict with the audience and their acceptance of them. In the new media that I consume, I still find a hiccup in our alignment of intentions with personal promotion as a base aim running strife through the mastheads and blogs of the day. The same problems with editorial integrity are ever-present.

I don’t propose that we operate with some holier-than-thou attitude, but that we try harder to find a balance between sustainability, purpose and mutuality in everything that we do.

Thoughts?