Creating a Blueprint for Growth: It All Starts With a Clear Vision

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The saying, “begin with the end in mind” is never more appropriate then when creating a blueprint for growth for your organization.  Terminology in planning exercises can be confusing, but in order to arrive at your vision, all you need to do is answer the question, “what are we building?” 

If you think about describing what that picture looks like in your mind as you look out over the horizon at your business three years from now, what do you see?  How would you describe it?

A good framework for the vision statement is to identify the geographic scope of the organization, size in terms of revenue and/or people, and a description of what the organization will provide. 

Having a concrete, succinct vision statement is a critical step in the planning process.  It identifies that future point in space and time to which everyone in the organization is moving towards.  If the vision isn’t clearly defined, or everyone has a different idea of the vision, than decision making will reflect that confusion. 

Effective Performance Management Must be a Continual Process

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The term Performance Management means different things to different people.  For some organizations, Performance Management is synonymous with Performance Review which is most often a yearly process of reviewing an employee’s accomplishments and assigning ratings based on pre-determined categories.

Performance management is a broad term coined by Dr. Aubrey Daniels in the late 1970s to describe a technology for managing behavior and results; two critical elements of what is known as performance.  Effective Performance Management involves continual measurement and coaching to ensure that goals are being met. 

Improving an organization’s performance then requires that employees at all levels receive consistent feedback on their results and the behaviors they’re utilizing.  Receiving feedback mid-stream provides the opportunity to refine the approach and align systems.  Providing only a yearly retrospective on performance, means that many organizations are missing the opportunity to effectively manage and improve performance.

Measurement is Powerful

Measurement is not new…it has been around since the beginning of time.  The sophistication of measurement has grown and improved as time has progressed.  David Landes said, “It can be persuasively argued that improvements in the measurement of time were the most important physical advances in the history of Western Civilization, without which few of the other advances would have been likely.”  In fact, all scientific and industrial progress has been dependent on increasingly more refined measurement tools. 

Although at times we may wish that the measurement of time weren’t so precise and always ‘in our face’, it is true that without that frame of reference, other measurements would be meaningless. 

What makes measurement so powerful is its ability to instigate action--to propel people to move forward and make progress.  As Louis Pasteur said, “A science is as mature as its measurement tools.”  Its interesting then how much more advanced the use of measurement is in the scientific arena as compared to business.  We have the technology.  We understand the importance.  Why aren’t we using measurement more effectively in our businesses? 

Planning a Sales Call--More Than a Panic Attack in the Elevator

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We’ve probably all been there at one time or another even if we don’t want to admit it.  We’re in the elevator on the way to a meeting with a prospect, and we’re planning for the ‘sales call’ as the floors tick by.  It’s kind of crazy really when you think about how much money we invest in marketing, which is all about getting opportunities to be in front of a prospect.  Yet when we finally get that audience, we’re often not adequately prepared to fully leverage that time.

The antidote to this is the concept of the checklist.  If you have a background in aviation, you may be familiar with the concept of a checklist.  A checklist is a type of informational aid used to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task.

The sales application would entail creating a checklist of those elements that you’ve identified as being critical to a successful first meeting with a prospect.  That checklist might include; 1) what you need to take to the meeting, 2) questions you need to ask the prospect, and 3) objectives for the meeting.

Although not every meeting with a new prospect is identical, a person will be more confident during the meeting if he goes in feeling prepared and confident.  Creating a checklist with your sales team is a good way to document one important element of your ‘sales best practices’.

Making Things Simple is Hard Work

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It’s a paradox that communicating something in a ‘simple’ way [defined; straightforward, clear-cut, unadorned] is actually hard work.  When you think about the best teachers you’ve had, one of the qualities they probably had in common was the skill to communicate the complex in a simple way.

We face a similar challenge every day when we communicate with our organization’s stakeholders.  Do your employee’s understand the long-term vision you have for the business?  Does your banker buy-in to your growth plans?  Can your customers sense that everyone in your organization is working for them?

See if you can create a ‘simple’ one-page description of your business including an explanation of; 1) what you’re building, 2) who you help, 3) how you help them, and 4) why the business exists.  Then test your ability to make the complex simple by seeing if you can share your description with someone and have them say, “I get it.”  It’s not as easy as it sounds...