Episode 168 - The Power of a Clear Vision to Drive Your Business Forward

 Good day and welcome to The Budding Entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host, Randy Bridges. In each episode, we dive into practical business strategies that you can put to work in your business right away. 

We also focus on inspiring stories from leaders who are shaping and making things happen in their industry. It's all about giving you the tools and insights to take you and your business to the next level. So get comfortable and let's jump right in.

All right, all right. We are on episode 168 of the budding entrepreneur podcast. Today is Friday, October 4th, 2024. 

I'm really excited to start a new series. For quarter three, our series was about leadership and we covered a lot of ground there, but now we're going to be shifting gears. This quarter, we're talking about vision.

Why vision? Well, in my years of coaching and consulting with service-based business owners, I found one consistent theme when people feel stuck or unsure of how to move forward. They lack a clear vision. They may have a rough idea of where they want to go, but without a concrete plan, it's easy to get bogged down by the day-to-day grind and lose sight of the big picture. 

So today's episode is all about understanding the power of a clear vision. We're going to look at why having a strong vision is the foundation of any successful business and how you can create one that not only inspires you, but also aligns your team toward common goals. Now, before I go any further, I want to share something on this topic that's a bit personal and I think it's important. 

For a long time, I had no real vision about my business. Yep, I was that proverbial lost child in business. Now, I had ideas, but nothing I could really execute on. 

I struggled. I strained. I wondered what everybody else had that I didn't.

Anytime someone said, do this, I would do it and I'd get no further. Why? That's why I asked all these different questions. And it's really because of a reality that's easy to miss.

Tactics and strategies are not vision. Vision, as we'll see, is a much greater necessity for growth than any tactic or strategy. It provides the biggest reason for your why do you do this, more so than just about anything else. 

Now, once I worked out my vision, the pieces of my business came together very quickly. So, if you wonder why you struggle, if you think you're missing something important but don't know what it is, if you know the feeling of being lost and you find yourself banging your head against a wall for a reason you don't understand, if you know those feelings, this quarter is almost certainly going to be the best thing for you to listen to again and again. I can say, with great conviction, that getting clear on your vision might be one of the most, if not the most, liberating feelings you'll ever experience. 

That being said, let's jump into our agenda for the day. We're going to be taking a look at a quote from Jack Welch. Then on our topic for the business strategy, we're going to be breaking down exactly what a vision is and why it matters for your business. 

Then we'll talk about how a clear vision can impact your decision making, your team, and your overall business strategy. And finally, I'll share some practical steps to help you start crafting a vision that aligns with your goals and brings clarity to your business. We've got a lot to cover, so let's jump in and get started.

First on our quote from Jack Welch. Now he is an American business executive. He's best known for his role as the CEO of General Electric for well over 20 years. 

But what he said was this, good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own that vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion. Now that's a great quote to kind of run right in with this whole concept of vision because, you know, without it, you're just like me, you're going to struggle. Okay, I did. 

I really had no idea where I was headed. I knew what I wanted to do, but not how to get there. And we'll be talking about that. 

Today's main topic is the power of a clear vision. So I want to start first of all, what exactly is a business vision? Well, if you just take the simple terms, your vision is the long-term goal or destination that you're aiming for. It's the big picture of where you want your business to be in the future.

But here's where it gets powerful. A vision isn't just a fluffy dream. It's a strategic tool.

When you have a clear vision, it guides every decision you make. It keeps you focused when the day-to-day chaos distracts you, and it gives your team a purpose to rally around. Let's say you run a service-based business, law firm, consulting practice, something like this.

You've been hustling hard, bringing in clients and keeping things running. But without a clear vision, it's easy to fall into the trap of just reacting to whatever's in front of you. You might be making money, but are you building the business you actually want? That's where vision comes in. 

A clear vision gives you a roadmap. It shows you where you're headed and more importantly, how to get there. It answers questions like, where do I want my business to be in five years? Maybe 10 years? What kind of clients do I want to serve? What kind of impacts do I want my business to make, both for others and for myself? Now, when you answer these questions with clarity, everything seems to fall right into place as a result. 

And that brings us to one of the most crucial ways a clear vision impacts your business, decision-making. Without a doubt, decision-making can be one of the most stressful parts of running a business, especially when you're feeling like you're just stuck. How do you know what's best for the business? Should you chase every opportunity that comes your way? What if you make the wrong call? Here's the beauty of a well-defined vision. 

It makes those tough decisions much easier. A clear vision acts like a filter. When you're faced with a choice, big or small, you can just ask yourself, does this align with where I want my business to go? If the answer is yes, move forward. 

If the answer is no, let it go. But here's the real interesting part. Let's say you do move forward and you make a mistake.

This decision allows you a fallback point to where you can go and know exactly where you need to go to make a slightly different decision. So it's not like you're just blowing it out and going, well, you know, I don't know what decision to make, so I'll just try something. Sometimes you have to do that. 

But when you're working with a vision, you have that clarity and that disposable time to be able to know internally what the right decision is for your business. I like to think of your vision as your personal compass. Without it, you're going to feel lost.

You'll be unsure of which direction to head. But when you have it, you know exactly where you're going and you can navigate your business with confidence. That means no more chasing after every shiny object or trendy business idea that doesn't fit into your long-term plan.

Let's say you're deciding whether to expand your services. On the surface, it sounds like a great idea, right? More services, more clients, more money. But if you take a closer look, does offering that new service fit with your vision for the business? Does it align with the goals you've set for the next three to five years? Will it bring you closer to the impact you want to have or will it just be another distraction? Now, if the answer is no, then guess what? It's not the right move and you're better off focusing your time and energy on something that does align with your vision.

Many times we'll find these distractions are actually helpful points for us, but we don't quite know that in the beginning. It seems like it's a good idea. It seems like it moves us along. 

And then we find that there are shortcomings on it that we have to deal with. That's not a bad situation. That's simply course correction for your business.

If you're on the sea and you want to go in a given direction and you find that that direction is not the best for you, you can tack slightly differently and go in a slightly different direction and hopefully that's going to get you where you want. Now, this applies to every aspect of your business, whether it's choosing which clients to work with, deciding which market strategies to invest in, or even evaluating your team members. When you have a clear vision, a lot of these decisions become less about what should I do right now and more about what will bring me closer to where I want to be. 

And that's especially important in today's fast-paced market. As a business owner, we're constantly bombarded with new tools, new strategies, new opportunities. But if you don't have a solid vision in place, it's all too easy to waste time and resources on things that don't actually move your business forward.

You may find yourself working in your business rather than on it most of the time and you're getting caught up in the tasks that don't truly support your big picture goals. When you have a vision, your decision making becomes more strategic. You'll start prioritizing long-term wins over short-term gains. 

This not only brings clarity to your business, but also reduces stress because you're no longer second-guessing yourself at every turn. You trust that the decisions you're making are moving you in the right direction. And here's the best part. 

A clear vision doesn't just impact you, it impacts your team too. Which brings me to the next point, which is vision and your team. Now let's talk about a clear vision and how it influences your team, because if you've got any kind of a business, you're likely not doing everything alone.

If you're anything like many of the service-based business owners I work with, you've probably had moments where it felt like your team was pulling in different directions. Maybe one person is focused on bringing in more clients, while another is worried about refining internal processes. Now both of those are important, but if there's no unifying vision, your team is going to end up scattered, working on things that don't connect in any meaningful way.

If you can get everyone to be aligned with a clear vision, all of that changes. Here's the deal. Your vision isn't just about you as the business owner. 

It's about creating something that your entire team can rally behind. When your team understands your vision, when they see how their work directly impacts the success of the business, they feel more invested. They're not just showing up for a paycheck, they're showing up to contribute to something bigger. 

Now keep in mind, and this is something I was listening to Alex Hormozi talk about, people will forgo some of the short-term gains that they might want in order to keep a longer term job. Do they want to be let go? Are they willing to take a 10% pay cut when times are tough, right? And so having a team vision that makes it clear what is going on, that's really, really so much more important. You're the captain of a ship. 

Without a clear destination, your crew has no idea where they're headed. Some might be going west, others want to go north, but once you define where you're going, let's say you're aiming for a particular island, they'll start working in sync. Everyone will understand that their role, no matter how big or small, is crucial to getting the ship to that island. 

And when your team is working with that kind of clarity, hey, it shows plainly. Your clients will notice a difference in how seamless everything seems to run. Your processes become more efficient, decisions are made faster, and your team becomes more engaged because they're no longer just going through the motions. 

They know that what they do matters. Having a clear vision helps your employees and team members understand that their specific tasks contribute to your mission. Whether they're handling intake, documents, billing, whatever, they see how their work impacts the firm's long-term success. 

This level of clarity not only improves performance, but also increases job satisfaction. They know they're part of something meaningful. And when your team has that kind of alignment, you'll find that you're no longer spending all your time trying to manage people. 

Instead, your team members take ownership of their roles and start contributing in ways that move the business forward, very much like agile leadership. That's why we talked about leadership last quarter, and now we're looking at vision. You have to work them hand in hand.

This leads to a company culture that's positive, motivated, and ready to take on new challenges. So if you want to create a business where your team is rowing in the same direction, a clear vision is essential. So we've talked about how vision impacts decision making and team alignment. 

So now let's get into the practical side of things. How do you start crafting a clear vision for your business? I'm going to break this down into a handful of steps. It's really not complicated, but it takes time. 

We'll talk about that. Step one is simple but powerful. Ask yourself, where do I want my business to be in five to ten years? Now if you find your direction is less clear than you're like with that kind of a number out there in front of you, reduce the view down to three years. 

And if you're just starting in business, focus in on the next 12 months. That's plenty of time, trust me, especially for a new business. But whatever you do, don't rush this. 

Really take the time to think about what success looks like for you. It's not just about making more money, although that is helpful and important to a point, but it's about the kind of impact you want to have, the type of clients you want to serve, and the life you want to live while you're serving them. What does your business look like when it's at its best? That's a second point. 

How are you spending your time? What kind of clients are you working with? What's the overall impact you're making in your industry or community? And finally, once you've got that big picture vision in mind, it's time to break it down into smaller actionable goals. Maybe you want to double your revenue in the next five years. Awesome! But what does that look like in terms of clients, staff, and operations? How do you get from where you are now to where you want to be? You have to line that out. 

Breaking that down into measurable chunks is really helpful. And one of the best ways to make this transition is by aligning your vision with your core values. Your business should reflect who you are and what you care about. 

If your vision is disconnected from your values, you'll have a much harder time staying motivated and committed when things get tough. Here's the thing, so will your team. But if your vision aligns with what you believe in, it becomes something that energizes you and your team every day. 

Finally, crafting a vision isn't a one-and-done task. It's an ongoing process. You'll need to revisit and refine your vision as your business grows and the market changes.

Having that initial vision in place, though, is what will give you the foundation to keep moving forward no matter what challenges arrive. So to recap, we've covered a lot today. We covered our quote from Jack Welch. 

We talked about the power of a clear vision, why it's essential for guiding your decision making, how it helps align your team around a common goal, and some practical steps for crafting a vision that fits your unique business. Next week, we'll be diving deeper into crafting your vision, how to build an execution plan using ideas we've discussed today, and turning that vision into reality. 

That's it for this episode. I hope you picked up some valuable insights and maybe even sparked a few new ideas. If you want to keep the conversation going or maybe even explore partnerships, don't hesitate to reach out. And hey, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this with someone who needs to hear it. 

The steps you take today could be the start of something big tomorrow. For the budding entrepreneur, I wish you the best in your health, your wealth, your business, your family, everything about you. Take care, and we'll see you back here next week.