15th September 2017

Doing what we have always done is not good enough anymore!

I had an interesting meeting last week with a new client. They were looking for some help to identify how they drive their business forward.

My first question to them was my standard opening what is your company’s vision for the future. His response was quick, to the point and sadly all too familiar to me. He told me:

“I don’t have time for all that nonsense I’m too busy running my company”.

This is a danger I see in so many businesses running to stand still. Without a vision, a business is like a ship without a rudder and is in danger of drifting aimlessly. Doing well or thinking they are, but never achieving the success its potential could deliver.

When I followed up by asking him what was his biggest worry about the future, his response reinforced to me that he like many small business owners lacked a vision for the future of his business.

His greatest fear, was the lack of time to complete all he thought he needed to do.

Again, this is so true for the majority of people I work with. Because so many small businesses lack a clear written vision, they tend to jump from familiar task to repetitive task without a clear understanding of what gels the individual actions together.  They spend day after day which flows into year after year doing what they have always done because it works, or they think it works.

As a result, in the words of Michelangelo: 

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.

That failure to reach its full potential is the greatest threat a business faces and having a business vision can remedy this.

For the sceptics amongst you, I say don’t underestimate the power of a vision.

McDonald’s founder, Ray Kroc, pictured his empire long before it existed, and he saw how to get there. He invented the company motto – ‘Quality, service, cleanliness and value’ – and kept repeating it to employees for the rest of his life.

Vision and strategy are both important. But there is a priority to them. Vision always comes first.

If you have a clear vision, you will eventually attract the right strategy. If you don’t have a clear vision, then your strategy can be fluid and ever changing, making success harder and harder to attain.

So what is a business vision?

A vision is about creating a short statement that will guide you over the next 3 to 5 years.  It should be specific enough to say something about what you will do and equally what you will not do. It should be capable of driving the business to achieve a common goal, and be motivational so that you have a constant reminder of what you are trying to achieve when obstacles appear and times get tough.

Your vision should provide the foundation for everything that you do in the business. It must:

• be concise and give purpose to your business
• be capable of motivating you and others in the business
• link your actions to your strategic goals, these actions must be driven from a clear understanding of the value they will provide.

How can you draft your own business vision?

1. Gather everyone who is involved in driving your business forward together and bring a pen and paper.
2. Turn off all phones, switch off from email and ensure you won’t be interrupted. 
3. Discuss and write down your current reality. Be clear about what holds your growth back, the tasks that drain energy from employees and the business. It’s important to be frank and brutally honest. You will not move forward unless you identify what needs to change. 
4. Then it’s time to be clear about what you want your business to achieve and become. Write this down in detail. Write it in the present tense, as though it has already happened. This will make it more believable to you and the others involved.
5. Share your vision with the people who have a stake in the outcome. This includes your friends and family.
6. Encourage them to help shape your vision and amend it as necessary, a fresh eye is always welcome.
7. Now get everyone to sign and commit to achieving the shared vision.
8. Pledge everyone to reading your vision daily. This is critically important. So stick it on your wall!
9. Review your vision at least once a quarter to ensure your on track and to make sure it’s part of your business DNA.

Your business vision is a process and tools exist to help you create one for yourself.

I have written a booklet in partnership with Panacea Adviser to help any business do just that? Called ‘Simple tools and templates to help you drive your business forward’ (insert link to booklet)

This has been designed for any business large or small and contains a wide variety of training tools that can get your business fit for the future.

Why don’t you download a copy to get your business vision moving and focus on what you can achieve rather than what you feel you need to do day after day.

Remember, the future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious. In short the future belongs to those with a vision.

And remember doing what we have always done is not good enough anymore.

John Joe McGinley

Glassagh Consulting September 2017

John Joe McGinley, Glassagh Consulting