Planning: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It – Part 6

The Blind Leading the Blind… That Just Doesn’t Work

Stumbling around blindfolded is no fun; it is even worse if you are leading others who depend on you for vision! Can’t do that.

You need a vision statement.

So, one of the last pieces of the actual plan is the vision statement; it is also the first new page of the new plan! I usually wait till sometime in December to write the vision. Then, I’ll pick an exact date for one year down the road. It might start like this:

“It’s December 22nd, and we’re about to wrap up a fantastic year…”

I speak in the present tense, on a specific date in the future, and I review all of the company’s accomplishments during the year. You can review the one I included below in the 2020 business plan a few entries back. Finally, we take the vision statement plus a synopsis of the business plan and put it in an email to all our employees.

Yep, publish your vision statement! (Are you getting tired of hearing me say that?!)

In late December, I read the previous vision to the whole company. In early January, I read the new vision to the entire company. We also print up multiple copies and are prepared to share them with anybody who has an interest.

I provide an example of a One-Page Business Plan to everyone, but a multiple-page plan is shared with my children and the rest of the management team. That plan always starts with our mission statement (which never changes). This is followed by our annual vision for the upcoming year, a SWOT analysis, revenue and profit history, growth-projection charts, and one-year, three-year, five-year, and ten-year revenue projections. It’s a lot!

Take the blinders off!

Get a vision statement and start seeing your way forward with clarity for you and those who follow you! Vision, it’s a strong muscle.

This concludes my Planning: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It series. Next up, I’ll tackle customer-focus and marketing.

See you next week. Build muscle.

**Note – The Build Organizational Muscle Blog will slow to once a week for the summer months to give all you loyal readers extra time to play corn hole, throw horseshoes, or drink a cold beer in the shade.