“If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?”
Mckeown, Greg . Essentialism - The disciplined pursuit of less.
“Grow & Empower a Recreational, Modern Recurve, Target Archery Community in South Africa”
It goes without saying that last year has been extraordinarily difficult for us as a company and as a team. The most challenging in the nearly 10 years the company has been in existence.
I have been working very hard in recent years to establish a team that can manage the Zoolake portion of the business so that I can begin to expand and bring our model to other areas. This is definitely one of the larger challenges of growing the sport in South Africa. There is a severe lack of experienced archers and coaches. Anyone wanting to get involved must have been trained up through our existing system. When I left Johannesburg at the end of 2019, we had three very capable coaches working either full or part-time and several other archers showing interest in getting more involved in the coaching space. Supported by a great team and a solid client base, the company was in a very strong position with the promise of a bright year ahead. It seemed like an ideal time for me to step away but in reality, the timing could not have been worse.
Last year saw one devastating blow after another. The lockdown knocked the company extremely hard financially. This was followed by Alistair (an extremely promising coach) opting to pursue other professional ventures and not returning when we reopened. We’ve had large client loss and extreme restrictions on operational capacity due to lockdown regulations. More recently, after a decade with the company, Charni has made the decision to pursue her Pilates business full time from the beginning of next year (Full post here). Another difficult factor is that my decision to leave Johannesburg is unfortunately set in stone. I have explored the idea of returning permanently or even temporarily but have decided against it. I have settled in Paarl in the Western Cape where my partner (Lisa) has landed a dream teaching job. We are happy here, and there are some exciting prospects for growth for Sentient Archery in the area.
Since I left Johannesburg, even before COVID-19, I have been spending a large amount of time and energy thinking about the past and the future of Sentient Archery.
When I officially registered the company in 2011, we had an obvious and simple (yet undefined) goal: Create a financially sustainable business teaching Archery. This is something I have been told many times is not possible in South Africa and that “One of these days you need to get a real job”. I am proud to say that almost 10 years on that day has still not come. In fact, it did not take long at all to reach sustainability and even profitability. After only a few years we were already expanding the size of the team.
However, a recent realisation for me is that once we had achieved sustainability, we did not consciously adjust the company’s objectives. This meant we continued to grow and succeed but there was no real clarity of purpose. I would be lying if I said this small (read as “large”) oversight hasn’t brought some issues along with it.
Enter the concepts of Essentialism. After reading a book (several times in fact) called ‘Essentialism - The disciplined pursuit of less’ by Greg Mckeown, I was introduced to a concept that completely changed my perspective about the business and my personal life: The concept of an “Essential Intent”. A statement that defines the objectives, values and mission of a person or organisation but is also measurable, achievable and simple by nature. A single definable priority.
“If we could be truly excellent at only one thing, what would it be?”
Mckeown, Greg . Essentialism (p. 127).
And so I began the process of establishing the Essential Intent for Sentient Archery. Asking hard questions about what we actually do and what we really want to achieve. During the height of the lockdown, I spent many hours in video meetings with the team discussing the concept, pulling the business apart and really digging below the surface to find the essence of what we already do, what we want to be doing and of course how we want to do those things.
Since we reopened, our objective was made obvious for us: Survive!
While we are far from safe or in the clear, we have survived and now our focus must shift again to the way forward.
Over the past few months, I have continued to mould our Essential Intent and the statement below is what has remained. It holds up to any scrutiny or hard questions I throw its way.
Grow & Empower a Recreational, Modern Recurve, Target Archery Community in South Africa.
Going forward, this statement will form the centre point of the company, on which everything else will hinge around. It will be the one statement that answers all the hard questions while guiding the decision making processes and the direction for the company. The wording is very specific and has taken into account an extraordinary variety of factors. I will be creating another post to flesh out each element of the statement and the philosophies and ideas at its core. For now, though, I want to get our Essential Intent out into the light.
Now, more than ever, having a clear vision for the company will be paramount for its success. I would like to also use this post as a declaration of my continued commitment to the company and the community. Archery has been a massive part of my life since I was 12 years old, at 31 I am still very much in love with the sport and so while this Essential Intent is professional by nature, it is also deeply personal for me.
In no uncertain terms, Sentient Archery is going through a difficult period. Even though we have some serious challenges to overcome, ‘Archers of Zoolake’ as well as ‘Archers of Boskruin’ form a crucial part of the above Essential Intent. Without these clubs and others like it in the future, we cannot grow the community. We are working on bridging the gaps and finding a way to rebuild the clubs. One way or the other we will make it work. We will certainly be leaning on our community and we have faith that with your support we will move onwards and upwards.
Thank you for your continued support and as always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any suggestions, concerns or questions.
Strong Shots!
Dean McHendry
& The Sentient Archery Team