Vision informs the future state of the successful business. The reason that most small businesses fail is because there is no clear line of sight between the goals and objectives of the business and its envisioned future.
Without Vision, the business never gets the right things done and, in fact, often gets the wrong things done, or gets nothing done at all. Such a business is destined to wander aimlessly and lose its direction entirely.
Everyone may look busy in such a business, but this should not be mistaken for productivity or achieving results. A business without a Vision has no clarity, no coherence and no future. Such a business is operating on borrowed time and fruitless energy and invariably ends up in a place that it does not want to be.
Setting the Vision for the small business is an imperative and is critical for its success. It ensures that all the streams of organizational activity are aligned and in keeping with the notion of doing one thing well and in pursuit of excellence.
A Vision Statement is not just a pithy saying that sits below an inspirational picture that hangs on the wall. For it to achieve its full effect, the Vision of the business has to be a lived reality by all of the people in the business. It is the future that is created for the business, and it forms an integral part of the business performance management process.
Fulfilling the Vision is the key benchmark against which business development and risk management are measured. Effective and successful business owners are always asking the question, “How does this activity further our Vision?”
There are four key perspectives required in developing clarity around Vision in small business.
Action
A sense of Vision in the business has to be aligned and integrated with the Mission and Values of the business. Vision is the living out of the Mission and behaving in the right way. Vision is something you do. Vision is venturing out into a future that is unknown, and it is refined and understood more clearly only as it is enacted.
Remember, there are no futures in that sense, apart from the ones that we create for ourselves. We set out toward this envisioned future and act as if it were a reality, and in so doing, the Vision becomes clearer as we go and more likely to become so.
Listen and Observe
Creating Vision in the value-based business then is a process of discovery through action. The successful business owner and effective manager is always listening to and observing what is going on in their business in relation to the external world.
The Vision for the business, imparted with, through and for others, is the result of this ongoing process and a growing understanding of what the Vision means. All business activities being undertaken are sifted through the lens of Vision.
One of the highly valued qualities of good leadership is this ability to listen to all the voices, including customers and employees, and once having listened to them, determine the course of action that must be taken in a decisive way.
Hone and Evaluate
As the Vision is enacted and used as a filter for discernment and determining new courses of action, the Vision itself becomes clearer, more vivid and indeed more apparent.
The Vision for a business then is a dynamic reality that requires continual refinement, in light of initiatives that are executed in the business.
The sense of Vision in the successful, value-based business then informs all business policy development. The Vision in turn is informed by the unfolding nature of the business as it grows and develops.
It is critically important to review the words that encapsulate the Vision on a regular cycle to ensure that the words used reflect the true nature of the Vision of the business.
Reaffirm
The cycle of visioning in business never ceases. The envisioned future must be reinvigorated and reaffirmed, in light of actions taken, ongoing listening and observation and evaluation. In the value-based business, the Vision must be reaffirmed at least on an annual basis for it to maintain its freshness and relevance.
If this is not done, it will revert to just being another catchy marketing slogan, with no substance, that soon becomes obsolete and irrelevant.
The successful business owner is always focused on the Vision of the business and continually reaffirming commitment to it at every opportunity.