What’s Your Equation ?
Over the years I’ve worked with numerous sci-tech, biotech and pharma-based innovators, start-ups and scale-ups, supporting them to build, develop and grow their businesses. Some have created remarkable businesses and others succeeded despite lacking experience, funding or connections. Then there are highly capable founders who had brilliant ideas but been unable to get past barriers or those who worked incredibly hard but with nothing to show for it.
Over the years, I’ve become fascinated by what separates these two camps.
Every business is different, every market has its own idiosyncrasies, and every entrepreneur brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the journey. Markets change, customers evolve and competitors emerge. Opportunities appear where you least expect them and disappear just as quickly.
When you spend enough time around growing businesses, you notice recurring themes.
Certain behaviours seem to increase success. Particular habits repeatedly hold people back. Distinct ways of thinking appear to create momentum while other traits generate frustration.
Recently I’ve been thinking how biotech innovations can show their formula using hexagonal molecule diagrams to communicate and clarify the chemical composition of their discovery, and I found myself asking a simple question:
Can I express my business observations as an equation in the way a science-based business does ?
After a lot of thought, I came up with this:
Before you decide I’ve finally lost the plot and turned being an Innovation Director into a maths lesson, let me explain.
In my equation:
D = Dreams
A = Action
F = Focus
B = Backbone
Am = Ambiguity
N = Noise
U = Uncertainty
R = Results
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to reflect the businesses I see succeeding, and the businesses that struggle. But this isn’t really about an equation; it’s about understanding what drives progress, what sabotages it, and what gets it going in the first place. Let me explain.
Every business starts with a Dream.
I don’t mean a fantasy or a vague aspiration but a vision of how things could be better, a belief that a problem can be solved differently or an opportunity that others haven’t yet recognised.
It can manifest in a desire to create something valuable, meaningful or profitable. Whatever form it takes, the dream matters because it provides direction, giving meaning to the hard work ahead and creating a reason to push through the inevitable challenges that come with building a business. If there is no dream, there’s no destination, nor a reason to take risks, invest time or persuade others to come on the journey with you.
But dreams alone don’t create businesses.
I’ve met countless people with fantastic ideas. In fact, ideas are rarely the scarce resource in science focused start-ups and scale-ups, as the world is full of intelligent, creative people with interesting concepts. What separates entrepreneurs from everyone else is their willingness to take action.
Action is where ideas meet reality.
Action creates learning, momentum, opportunities and feedback. Without action, dreams remain exactly where they started: in your head.
Founders, owners and innovators I meet work incredibly hard. Their action list is lengthening, they are out at meetings, networking and workshops, and they are trying to drive their visibility over social media, tweaking their website whilst getting more ideas and trying to run the business overall. They’re busy, occupied and exhausted. This is a trap I see where they are busy rather than productive, so action by itself isn’t enough.
Focus gives the ability to decide what matters most.
Each day SMEs are presented with new opportunities, tools, trends and opinions competing for attention. Focus is what allows you to concentrate resources on activities that genuinely move the business forward rather than simply creating the appearance of progress. It is fast becoming one of the most valuable skills in modern business as the challenge isn’t finding things to do, the challenge is deciding what not to do.
So that’s where Backbone comes in.
Backbone isn’t just added into the equation; it amplifies everything across the top line.
Anyone can stay focused when things are going well. It’s relatively easy to remain committed when the pipeline is healthy, customers are responding positively and opportunities seem endless. The real test comes when the opposite happens.
Backbone breeds the tenacity to continue despite uncertainty, setbacks and disappointment. This builds the resilience to hold your nerve long enough for Focus and Action to compound into meaningful results.
Successful entrepreneurs aren’t necessarily the smartest, most experienced or best funded people in the room. They are the people who have the determination and persistence to keep moving forward after others have stopped.
That is all positive, but there’s the other side to the equation that founders often overlook.
Most business advice focuses on increasing the numerator. We talk about bigger ambitions, more activity, improved productivity and greater resilience. Dream bigger. Work harder. Do more. Far fewer conversations focus on what’s happening underneath the line.
The denominator of the equation is the silent killer of progress.
Ambiguity, Noise and Uncertainty quietly drain performance from businesses every single day.
Ambiguity appears when you’re unclear about your customer, your value proposition, your direction or your priorities. Noise appears through endless distractions, social media, conflicting advice, shiny opportunities and the constant temptation to chase something new. Uncertainty is driven by incomplete information in a world where perfect answers are usually unavailable.
It is impossible to eliminate the Am, N and U factors (Ambiguity + Noise + Uncertainty) entirely.
And this is perhaps the biggest insight hidden within this equation:
The faster route to improved results is often through removing the things holding those results back meaning effort should be on the denominator, instead of the numerator.
Scientists, founders and innovators who search for clarity, remove distractions, push for simplicity, all work to reduce friction. They understand the need to make decisions based on the incomplete information to accelerate progress. They aren’t stunted by this but are also aware that they know when things are not progressing and it is time to stop.
Reading this you may be thinking ‘what about time?’. It doesn’t appear anywhere in Gary’s equation.
It’s a good observation and the answer is that time is a constant on both sides of the equation, being an inherent positive and negative, so they cancel each other out. Time can amplify success, but it can also multiply issues. Time can strengthen relationships, reputation and learning, yet it can also magnify confusion and delay decision-making. I’ve seen businesses spend ten years heading in the wrong direction and others achieve more in eighteen months because they knew what to concentrate on and how to address the downsides.
Time matters but it’s what you do with it that counts, which is why time is left out of my equation (but I haven’t ignored it).
On a whiteboard, or in a maths textbook, I’d write the equation like this:
R = ((D + A) × F)B Am + N + U
Written out in full, it is:
Results = ((Dreams + Action) × Focus)Backbone Ambiguity + Noise + Uncertainty
I like the symmetry as it tells a story:
Numerator (what creates momentum):
((D + A) × F)B
Dreams create direction. Action turns dreams into reality. Focus channels effort. Backbone compounds the effect.
Denominator (what destroys momentum):
Am + N + U
Ambiguity creates confusion. Noise creates distraction. Uncertainty creates hesitation.
The hidden insight
There’s also an insight within the equation that makes it easy to identify and communicate with others:
Using basic algebra, if Ambiguity, Noise and Uncertainty approach zero, Results increase exponentially.
Conversely, you can have huge dreams, take lots of action, be highly focused and possess enormous backbone, but if you’re constantly unclear about your market, distracted by something else and paralysed by uncertainty, your denominator is larger so results will diminish.
Dreams start the journey. Action creates movement. Focus directs energy. Backbone keeps you going. Ambiguity, Noise and Uncertainty get in the way. That’s probably the simplest explanation of the equation and, intriguingly, one that most people immediately relate to.
Ultimately, this isn’t really about my equation; it’s about yours.
What factors genuinely create momentum in your business today that drive you forward?
What’s holding it back?
Grab a tea or coffee and a notebook, take 10 minutes and write down your equation. The letters used and the way it is expressed doesn’t matter – it’s the introspection that makes the difference and then how you explain it to others.
Be realistic and self-critical, then ask yourself one simple question:
Which single element could I improve this month that would have the greatest impact on my results?
Whilst scientific innovation can be built through dramatic breakthroughs, successful businesses are generally not. They’re built through continually strengthening the positive factors whilst simultaneously recognising and minimising the negative ones. They do this day after day, decision after decision, until the results begin to speak for themselves.
Success is rarely accidental. It relies on working out the factors that genuinely drive results, which behaviours create progress and what habits increase performance and clarity. But knowing what sits in your denominator quietly reducing the impact of all the hard work is the silent killer.
Creating your business equation gives an introspection to what you do well and what is holding you back. Try it. There is no right or wrong it is more about the process, the output and the insights that gives you the clarity to drive results.
So when you take space in the private or shared labs at The EpiCentre, expect me to ask about your innovation and your business equation.
Gary Jennings is Innovation Director at The EpiCentre Haverhill and author of his latest book on how to get your business found by AI searches (Be The AI Answer). The EpiCentre Haverhill is an leading innovation centre with fully equipped shared labs as well as dedicated private lab space. To find out more, visit https://www.epicentrehaverhill.co.uk.