Do you have 2020 perception?
January 2020 – not only the start of a new year, but also the start of the new decade. Alongside making resolutions for the new year, many businesses are taking a longer term view – towards the remainder of the decade.
Considering we’re frequently talking to our clients about the importance of developing a vision for their business, we couldn’t let the start of the year 2020 come and go without making reference to having ‘2020 vision’.
For many business owners, vision can be attributed as one of the most fundamental factors of their success. Without having had a vision for their business in the first place, many businesses would never have been created. Vision also plays a key role in more established businesses, setting out a pathway to follow over a defined period, with goals and milestones to meet along the way. We’ve written previously about setting out goals and a vision at the start of the New Year – this blog can be found here.
In conjunction with looking at their visions this year, we are also working with clients around the area of perception. Although linked with vision, perception is actually very different – and arguably more important.
Varying from person to person, perceptions are the conclusions we come to in our own minds based on the information before us and in fact, guide many of our behaviours and decisions.
Many successful entrepreneurs refer to having ‘gut feelings’ or in other words, perceptions. However, perceptions by their nature are not necessarily accurate, and can be formed on the basis of incomplete, unverified or unreliable information. It’s not hard to imagine how too much reliance on perception could quickly become harmful in a business setting.
Having up to date and accurate facts and figures on the other hand, such as detailed accounts or up to date info on Key Performance Indicators, are invaluable when making decisions – from the everyday to the life-changing. Without hard and fast data, you are effectively making decisions in the dark, relying instead on a feeling or idea that could be misplaced.
This brings us on to the other area in which perceptions are important – and that’s the different perceptions we each have. All of our perceptions are accurate to an individual, but not all perceptions align. Therefore, information that is in some way unclear could be interpreted differently – for example by employees, clients or other stakeholders.
By coming to a realisation about this, and considering the potential consequences, the value of having a clear and consistent approach becomes apparent.
Maintaining clarity in communication and having a defined and systematised approach goes some way to ironing out inconsistencies that could lead to misinterpretations or misunderstanding.
Again, business owners can use Key Performance Indicators as a way for every employee to work on the same playing field. In addition, by making results available to all, it is easy for all to see whether key business objectives, and those relevant to each individual, are on track, behind, ahead, or have been achieved.
Many people incorrectly think that 20/20 vision refers to someone with perfect eyesight, the term actually only refers to ‘normal vision’. So as well as developing a 2020 vision for your business, maybe you should also look beyond the ‘normal’ goals, and into the arena of clear, consistent and accurate information.
Leave a Reply