One of the best things about our industry is also one of our greatest challenges; nothing is set in stone. There are few scientific facts or even time-tested theories. It gives those of us who think big an open canvas, but doesn’t present easy blueprints for success.

It’s kind of like the Wild West out there, and we’re the ambitious but sometimes foolhardy Oregon Trail Pioneers. We have some clues from the people who went before us and prospered: “Build quality content and they will come,” is the modern “Don’t eat the mushrooms that grow on cow dung.” However, for the most part our fate is in our own hands and we have been given exactly enough rope to triumphantly ford a raging river or hang ourselves.

This is not a space  for people who want to follow a set plan and receive expected results. There are boundless opportunities to go in any direction. The trouble is some paths lead to a perfect Little House on the Prairie, while others go to Death Valley. Along the way the roads are littered with the bodies of those who made the wrong bet (the buzzards pulled a tasty meal off Google Buzz).

Always having your eyes on the horizon can be both exciting and daunting. When it comes to making a big strategic decision we do great diligence in gathering all the data we have to make an informed choice. Market research and analytics insights give us some clues if an idea is going to flourish, or if it’s in for a long winter.  But there are no guarantees of survival.

As leaders, both of our own teams and the digital industry, we feel a lot of pressure to find the right course and guide our groups to success. But sometimes we don’t even know what success is going to look like when we get there.