The basic premises of designing an effective vision are as
follows. You must believe there is always a better way. If you
don't think there is a better way to run the business, then you
don't need to create visions or strategies. If you do adopt this
belief, it will keep you (and your client) aware that you need
to monitor, review, and assess what you are doing, looking for
what you could do better. The owner often feels that what they
are achieving is good enough for now.
Otherwise they would have changed it before now. Most owners
won't realize they even need to create a vision, so you will
have to introduce them to this. Work backwards. Shift your mind
set from incremental plodding forward, to having the owner see
where they want to be 1, 2, or 3 years from now, and then work
backwards.
People are ill-prepared for the future. People do have ambitions
to grow and thrive ? and that's even more justification to
create a vision. Just know that most people don't know how to
prepare for the future, what skill sets are needed, etc. You
will have to help them with this.
A real vision has to be based on real desires. No matter how
many mental pictures we form about the future, the vision will
not be real to us unless it is based on our real desires.
As a business owner, vision means thinking for yourself and
maintaining a clear image of your distant goals. In our work
with entrepreneurs and the owners of small businesses, vision is
that future they want to create, and in so doing, they unlock
their potential, slot in their interest and generate excitement.
Vision is the underlying reason for why they do what they do in
the first place. It is very closely related to purpose and to
mission.
Step 1 Surface and refine the owners personal vision
The first step is designed for the owner to self-reflect that
the vision is based on their real desires.
Some questions to ask yourself/the owner at this point may be:
How do you want your story to go? Thirty years down the line?
What do you want your life to look like to others? How do you
want your life to feel on a day to day basis? What do you want
to say you truly know in your life and about your life? How
would I like to be with other people? How do I want people to
think about me? Turn these questions into a strategic objective
What is the game you are playing? What are you values? Income -
How much money do I need to live the way I wish? Am I in the
business I want to be in? Who is my ideal customer? Note:
Working on creating your vision and the vision of your business
with a business Coach can seriously enhance the quality and
effectiveness of the end result.
Step 2 Create a first draft
Build on the work accomplished in step one. The owner will have
drawn from his or her personal experiences and values to create
a set of ideas that both makes sense and is personally exciting.
Step 3 Discuss the draft and ideas with the senior team The
senior team discusses several process-type questions or thought
starters to discover their viewpoints, the current reality of
the business and where they think the future can be. This step
is a structured but very open process.
Some questions that can be asked of the team or business are:
What is meaningful about your work? What is meaningful about
your contribution to the organization? What contributions is
your organization making to society? What is your company
especially good at? How does your company stand apart? What
added value does your company?s customers receive? Why are your
company?s customers demanding its products and services? What
makes your company different from others in the industry? How
might your company?s learning assist other companies around the
world in the same business? How might they become more
successful based on your discoveries.
Step 4 Draft a second vision statement
Many new ideas will flow from the thought starter questions.
Smaller groups and/or individual sessions with key managers may
also be needed. It is from these sessions that the owner drafts
a second vision statement. This second statement is the topic of
discussion with the senior staff over the next three to six
months.
You may need several sessions (small bites) before progress is
made. That's OK. Take as much time as you want. Both analytical
thinking and a lot of dreaming big are required. The process
should not reduce to analysis only, for it will lose its
motivating possibilities.
Vision creation is always two steps forward and one backward. Do
not expect a straight-line, linear process. It can be full of
stops and starts, a bit confusing, and may ruffle some feathers
(including the owner's)
Keep working with your team to get down to the core wants.
The owner must have laid a solid foundation for the creation of
the vision statement by first having established a sense of
urgency and the top team responsible to assist in creating the
vision.
The process never works well without a minimum of effective
teamwork.
The original ideas will be modified by eliminating one element,
adding others and/or clarifying. The senior staff or even a
larger group of people always modifies the first draft. Make
sure that the owner is open to this process.
In the end, you want a statement that indicates a direction for
the future that is desirable, feasible, focused, and flexible
and is conveyable in five minutes or less.
About the author:
Learn more at http://www.my1stbusiness.com Ben Botes MSc. MBA,
is an Entrepreneur, Speaker, Writer, Coach and academic. He is
the founder of My1stBusiness.com, South African Business Hubs
Join the My1stbusiness.com Reseller Program and earn 40%
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Read Ben's Blog at http://www.my1stbusiness.com/weblog
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