[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1548289356400{background-color: #bcbcbc !important;}”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4582″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1753491390171{padding-right: 19px !important;padding-left: 19px !important;}”]It is not sufficient to just have a clear vision of where your business will be in the future. You need a plan of action to bridge the gap between your current state and your desired future to help guide you along the path and prevent getting lost.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]
Chapter 6: Map Your Course
I was doing some volunteer work for a nonprofit, and I learned that three years earlier, they had had a consultant come in and develop a strategy and vision of the future for the organization. Unfortunately, the vision had not been accomplished, so the organization went back to the drawing board with a new consultant. They developed a grand strategic plan for the future, and everyone was excited until the consultant left. At that point everyone wondered how they would achieve this grand strategic plan. Vision and strategies are useless without a map or plan of action to get you where you want to go. Strategies need to be executed or they will not serve the organization.
It is not uncommon for organizations to fail to enact their vision. But more common, in my experience, is that business owners and CEOs are so busy being busy running day-to-day operations that they do not have the time to stop and analyze their current state and determine their desired future. If they do, they do not take the time to chart a detailed course between those two points.
Check Your Coordinates
A map is there to guide you from where you are to where you want to go. Furthermore, a map helps you to see the most efficient route to take. Of course a map is only valuable if you know where you are currently, hence the need to be brutally honest about where you are starting from. The business environment is constantly changing and you will need to refer to your map and make slight adjustments along the way. If you develop a map but then do not refer to it often, it is not going to help you achieve the results you want in the most efficient way possible.
As I previously mentioned, I used to fly an airplane to save time going between locations. I could set the airport coordinates or air-port identifier for where I wanted to go along with the GPS, but if I did not continually check my location and refer to the map, I could easily get off course due to crosswinds or other factors. I had to continually check the environment and location, and make adjustments. It is the same with your map of your business and where you want to go. You have to continually make sure you are on course and make the appropriate adjustments to stay there. The business environment is changing constantly like a crosswind, and you need to continually make course corrections to create a successful future.
I once heard motivational speaker Brendon Burchard ask this question: ìWhen is the best time to have a map if you are going hiking in the woods? The answer: Before you enter the woods.î If you do not have a map and there are no trail markers, it is not difficult to get lost in the woods. Sometimes navigating business can be like finding your way in a forest. Why make it harder on yourself than it needs to be? Your map will be the guidepost on your journey toward your desired future.
I have climbed Mount St. Helens five times. On my first climb I was told that hikers had to be very careful when descending the mountain due to how the ground sloped off to the east. People tended to follow the natural contour of the land without realizing it and would eventually get off course and get lost. The U.S. Forest Service eventually solved this problem by installing large wood poles embedded in a pile of rocks to mark the path to prevent hikers from getting lost. They essentially created a visual map to follow to keep people on track.
Mark Your Own Path
You can mark your own path toward your future. I recommend using ninety-day increments. What are you going to do in the next ninety days that will move you closer to your one-year vision? Goal-setting marks your path, and meeting those goals provides ongoing propulsion to power you toward your desired destination.
Write your ninety-day goals down, and read them every day. Setting goals is a common practice of high achievers. According to Brendon Burchard’s research for his book High Performance Habits, ìHigh performers have a deliberate approach in planning their days, projects, and tasks compared to underperformers. He adds that the fundamentals of becoming more productive are setting goals and maintaining energy and focus. No goals, no focus. Productivity starts with goals.î
One of the great benefits of these ninety-day goals is that they prevent you from getting off course. Whenever you have a difficult decision to make, ask yourself just one question: Does this take us closer to our one-year vision of the future or further away? With the ninety-day goals marking your trail, the decision should then be easy. By repeating your clear ninety-day goals daily, you will empower yourself and your organization to pursue those goals, rather than getting ensnared in the day-to-day clutter or non-essential activities. You will also be building your belief in what is possible. Your beliefs affect your actions, which has a direct effect on your results.
Your success cannot be left to chance or good fortune. You have to do the hard work. Part of that hard work is going through this envisioning and goal-setting process. In doing so, you are laying the foundation for success.
I love the statement from Brendon Burchard, who said, ìWhen you knock on the door of opportunity, don’t be surprised to see hard work standing there, when you open the door.î No one said that business would be easy, but it does not have to be so complicated. Chunk it down into manageable pieces.
Success Steps
- Spend some time thinking about the ninety-day goals that will help you get to your one-year vision of the future.
- Write them down.
- Believe in yourself and trust that your dreams are possible.
- Read your ninety-day goals every day.
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It’s Not Hard, It’s Business
Fundamental Steps to help business owners learn what it takes to grow their business and increase their revenue.
As the former GM and COO of a $40 million company with seven locations I have learned what it takes to be successful in business. In this book, I share some keys to sustainable business growth and acceleration and the way to close the gap between your performance and your dreams.
You didn’t go into business to just get by, you got into it to succeed. Follow our series on the website and get your desktop reference copy from Amazon.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”4271″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]
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