# Capturing the Essence By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2025-01-15 Essence is an entity’s indispensable quality. It is what makes something not only singular but also uniquely engaging. Essence is what people experience as authentic. Copying the essence of another invariably comes across as phony. One can attempt to fake an essence, but it won’t be pulled off indefinitely. The charade will eventually be revealed. Part of an organization’s strategy should be grounded in its essence. Often, attempts to articulate an organization’s essence result in platitudes and cliché. For example, anything related to “good people” or “important work” is likely accurate but unhelpful. Many organizations are filled with good people who are engaged in executing important work. This doesn’t capture the singularity of a given organization’s essence. Getting to this core requires more work than this. It indeed entails more work than what most organizations want to conduct. This is why many organizations are filled with good people doing essential work and muddling through mediocrity. Good people doing important work isn’t sufficient for excellence. Only understanding the organization’s essence can do this. Capturing the essence provides a common denominator. It enables one to measure all things within the organization. If one can assess the degree to which a given action is consistent with one’s essence, one can determine the degree to which one should pursue the action. Capturing the essence provides clarity. It provides focus. It galvanizes action. Organizations spend so much wasted effort agonizing over decisions. It is as if each decision is the executives' first interaction. This constant, needless, re-baselining results from confusion, not the decision being made. Strategy can help, but only if it is a real strategy. Paying consultants to simply tell the organizations to keep doing what it’s doing wastes time and money. It provides no clarity. It will fail to capture the essence. Capturing the essence is the key. Most organizations can’t handle it. #### Related Items [[Authenticity]] [[Imitation]] [[Mediocrity]] [[Excellence]] [[Organization]] [[Decision-making]] [[Strategy]] [[Consulting]]