Seeing is Believing
As a business advisor I get to speak with a large number of business owners. Most of these owners are small to mid-sized companies with 5 to 150 employees. Although there are many factors that can cause a company to be successful or not, one common characteristic that distinguishes the good from the bad is the owner's vision for the company.
Almost everyone who owns a business has at one time formulated a vision of some kind. The successful business owner usually takes the vision however, and crystallizes it until it becomes as clear as a photograph. To the successful business owner, the vision is the target, the goal, the measure of success that keeps the passion alive. To the struggling business owner, the vision is cloudy, with no distinguishing milestones or meaningful characteristics. Because of this, it is rarely thought about as he/she continues to struggle with the challenge of the business.
A good vision can produce amazing results, a poor vision won't. A good example of a clear vision was in 1961 when President Kennedy announced his vision for putting a man on the moon and bringing him safely home again before the end of the decade. Of course, we all know the result of what most skeptics believed was an impossible dream.
There is one other important element that contributes to the successful vision. Not only is it important that you, as the business owner, are clear on the vision, everyone in your organization and around you needs to have the same clarity. Perhaps that is why during the 60's, the Soviet Union 's space program failed, even after taking a commanding early lead. Their lack of communication to their own people, and to the world, was exasperated by their strong fisted position to restrict freedom of speech.
A friend of mine once offered up this Yogi-ism regarding vision, "A man without vision, is an umpire!" Don't become an umpire, clarify your vision today and share it with someone. Do this simple thing and you will increase your odds for success.
To Your Success -
