Does your company have a Vision? Create the “Why” for your company
After working as a business coach for several years, I have noticed a common theme. Many owners and CEO’s know in their own mind what they want to accomplish, but have a hard time writing it down and putting it into words. When I ask them what their company vision is, they often have to stop and think, and have a hard time answering. So here are two questions to get you started: Why are you in business? Where do you want to be in 5-10 years? If you don’t know the answer to these 2 very important questions, take the time to answer. If you know but have never written it down, now is the time. What is your Vision for your company?
Don’t get swept up in the storm of day to day
Having a clear vision for your company is like having the rudder on your ship – without the rudder, your ship will be in the ocean without a destination, but even worse, it gets caught in tides and even storms, and who knows where your ship will end up. Using the same analogy for your business means that without a vision for where you want your company to be and why you are doing what you are doing, you tend to get “swept up” in day to day operations without any clear direction. The problem with this is, you tend not to plan strategically and thus may also get “caught up” in each day’s crisis’, without a clear plan of where you want to take your company. Where will you end up? Usually doing the same thing you are doing today 5 years from now.
Having a clear Vision gets everyone focused
So don’t get caught in day to day operations without taking time to work ON your business, starting with creating your Company Vision. Take some time to think about and then articulate the Vision for your company. Write it down. Share it with your staff, your team, your trusted advisors, even your customers. If you don’t write it down, it’s often not clear, and that’s where confusion happens. When you write it down, even in rough form, and then get your team to help you articulate it even better, that’s when you get buy-in and clear direction. That’s when you gain clarity for yourself and your team. Ever ask yourself why no one seems to be on the same page? Well, having clear Vision, Mission and Values Statements are “the page”. If you don’t have one, or haven’t looked at it within the last 90 days, it’s time to gain clarity and create one. This is the best gift you can give yourself and your company for 2016!