The key to building any strong house is to build a solid foundation, and the same is true of your business. To build a sustainable business and one which can cope with growth you need to have a solid foundation – the foundation of a business is your Vision.
The vision is what helps you get to your destination from your starting point – and not get distracted by shiny opportunities or attractions on the way. Don’t get me wrong – you may want to take advantage of some opportunities that appear to you – as long as they match your vision and keep you on track in the direction that you want to go in.
Here are two examples of how companies have created their Vision and share this with their clients and stakeholders.
Boeing Vision – http://www.boeing.com/principles/vision.page
Caterpillar Vision – https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/sustainability/vision-mission-strategy.html
I love how Caterpillar have expressed their Vision:
“Our vision is a world in which all people’s basic needs – such as shelter, clean water, sanitation, food and reliable power – are fulfilled in an environmentally sustainable way and a company that improves the quality of the environment and the communities where we live and work.”
Does that inspire you? Does your vision inspire you as the business owner?
We often hear talk of the “Why” – at Asentiv this is an extremely important part of how we help our clients develop their Vision and to create a compelling word of mouth message that others can share.
If you have never watched Simon Sinek TED Talk on How Great Leaders Inspire Action and the Why I would recommend talking some time out to watch it – you can find it here: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action
So think about your vision and answer these key questions:
- Imagine we meet 5 years from now – what would you love people to be saying is happening in the world because of your company?
- Who is benefitting from this and in what ways?
- What are we celebrating and what is being achieved?
- What impact or difference is being made by your efforts?
If you can create a compelling vision that can be shared then you can create a great foundation for your business to be built upon that will be sustainable and will grow.
I would love to hear your vision or examples of great visions that inspire you, or if you want to talk about how to create a great vision get in touch and I’d be delighted to help.