Six questions you need to answer to set the vision for your business 

I am often asked: what is the most important ingredient to help a SME achieve its growth and profit objectives? 
 
Whilst there are a number of factors contributing to growth, in my experience by far the most important is getting business leaders to devote time and effort to think through their vision for the future and then write it down
 
This might sound obvious but in reality, very few business leaders actually take the time do this. You may be surprised by the number of times I have asked a group of directors what their vision for the future is for their business only to receive a host of widely different answers. 
 
In my experience, successful organisations share a common vision - they know where they are going and how they are going to get there

When I take my clients through the process of documenting their vision, I ask six important questions: 

1. What is your purpose? 
How would your clients, staff and stakeholders describe your business if it was operating perfectly according to you? 
 
2. What do you want to achieve? 
What does winning and winning well look like? 
 
3. What are your key ambitions? 
What do want to be recognised for? Do you want to be the best at something? Is there a competitor you want to overtake? 
 
4. How will you measure your success? 
How will you know that you have turned your ambitions into reality? 
 
5. What are your priorities to turn your ambitions into reality? 
What workstreams or projects will you need to put in place to keep you on track? 
 
6. What are the risks you are likely to encounter along the way? 
Once you have identified your risks you can take steps to control them – prevention is better than cure. 

The benefits of adopting this approach are as follows: 

Your business will end up with a shared view of where it is going. Imagine boarding an aeroplane where the passengers all think they are going to land at different destinations? Scary! 
You will know if you are winning or losing. Would you enjoy playing a game of football without goalposts? 
You will have a well thought through vision that binds people together behind a common cause. The alternative is that everyone makes their own mind up. 
It will encourage you and your team to spend time on the things that matter. If it doesn’t move us towards our vision, we don’t do it. 
It’s a great way for you to help individuals and teams to understand how they can add value. Clarity pulls people together, without it there are mixed messages and even conflict. 
 
If you feel you need help in setting the vision for your organisation, get in touch and I will be delighted to help guide you through the process and get your vision documented on paper. 
 
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Tagged as: ambition, growth, vision
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