Ask yourself this, Why do you do what you do?
We often get so wrapped up in our daily business tasks that we rarely stop to consider “Why do I do what I do?”
Simon Sinek’s bestselling book “Start With Why” brilliantly illustrates this philosophy for leadership and decision making.
Once we understand the “why”, for example “why we set up a business” we can start to align our vision, mission and goals together to achieve success for our business and self. Maybe as a business owner you went into business to gain freedom only to find that you are working longer hours than before.
So what’s your vision?
A vision definition: “the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom”
Remember Martin Luther King said “I had a dream” not I had a plan. It is only when we have clarity of our dreams, aspirations and sense of purpose (our “why”) that we are able to make the plans to drive us towards an inspiring future for self and others.
A vision can then help you communicate your business goals to stakeholders in a single sentence or few concise paragraphs. Although it can take time to create a vision it should inspire strategic decision-making and business growth for the future.
According to Timothy Devinney, Professor of Strategy at University of Technology, Sydney (see article) Although vision may be part of business success what about employee understanding of the company strategy? In his Australian research up to 70 percent of employees do not understand their company’s strategy which can lead to poor decision making.
So, this is a great time of year to take stock, reassess your vision, business goals and strategies and set and communicate new ones to achieve your vision. After all failing to plan is planning to fail.
Whether you are fine tuning your ‘five’ year plan or starting from scratch it’s a great time to look at what you want and need from a work and life perspective.
Your plans to achieve your vision may include business plans, marketing plans, succession plans, financial plans, emergency plans and don’t forget your next 12 months of holiday plans!
Planning To Grow Your Business for 2015?
Maybe you’re considering one or more of the following:
➢ taking on more staff
➢ reviewing your customer base
➢ expanding your product range
➢ reviewing revenue streams
➢ identifying the growth strategy
➢ developing a better sales process
➢ operational efficiencies
Taking some planning time now before you get wrapped up in your daily tasks will help towards a more successful 2015, and if you want to grow your business check out this great video showing a practical example of a business growth model. (YouTube Video)
And remember why you do what you do…
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