New Year goal setting in plain sight
When it comes to your business, January is a great time to assess and take stock.
Something we always encourage at Agenda is to look at your business’ vision. Whilst this may seem like a fairly abstract concept, there’s method in our madness…after all, all of the smaller decisions you make consciously and subconsciously come from the ‘big picture’ you have in your head. Here are some things you might like to ask yourself:
Do you have a vision?
Having ‘vision’ is something that’s applauded in many aspects of life and particularly in business. The late, great Steve Jobs was often referred to as a ‘visionary’; with a particular skill for seeing how the future was set to pan out and putting the wheels in motion to create products and services ahead of their time. Do you have a vision for your business? You may have a business plan or a 5 year timeline, but these tend to detail figures and forecasts rather than an overall vision. A vision on the other hand is something more akin to an ethos, a mission statement or a set of values. Think about how and where you want to be positioned in your marketplace and work back from there.
Is the vision still relevant?
When you first started your business it is likely that you did so with a particular focus in mind. But is this still relevant? Has the market you operate in changed? Or the demands of your client base? It’s important to ask yourself these questions from time to time, all the while also probing as to whether you are keeping up with activity in your particular field and still meeting the needs and requirements of your customers.
Is the vision shared by those around you?
There’s no question that running a business is hard graft. Not only do you have to get on with the day to day practicalities of operating, you also have all of the headaches to take home with you at the end of the day. But running a business and trying to live up to its vision can be 10 times harder when that vision isn’t shared by those around you. First and foremost, if you have fellow directors or shareholders, it’s vital that you are all on the ‘same page’ in this regard. Secondly, don’t forget your staff! Share your vision with them – how can you expect them to act accordingly if you don’t?
Do you have a clear focus of what you need to achieve in 2017?
So back to the start of this blog – the New Year. Now you’ve had a think about your company’s vision, it’s time to think about how you can better see it through in 2020. Perhaps you need to revisit your company’s vision and bring it into line with your current positioning or proposition. Maybe you have an incredibly clear vision for your business but you fail to communicate this with your staff; resulting in you being constantly disappointed. Identify and write down your particular issues and put a plan in place to approach it. Go on, get that pen and paper…
There’s nothing quite like the New Year for bringing everything into focus and making plans; be they resolutions for your health, family life or business. So go forth and bring your vision into reality.
We wish you a happy and successful new year.
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