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Take a moment. Close your eyes and picture what you would like your business to look like. If you could do what you want and have what you want, what would it look like? What would it smell like? Let yourself stay with this vision for a bit so that you get that sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
Open your eyes, look around you and tell me what you see. Can you see things that could be? Or do you just see what is there. What is missing?
You cannot get excited about goals or the future if you are not willing to see it. Some of the best athletes picture themselves sinking the final putt or making the great shot. We as business leaders or even for ourselves we don’t give ourselves the freedom to picture our success so we know what we have to do to make it happen.
Some of you reading this may think that this is childish. Maybe even too “touchy feely.” I don’t see this as childish I see it as child-like. Have you seen the commitment of children to their imagination? Where they see the battle ships or the enemies and fight with abandon? Do you see their excitement in possibilities? I have two young boys and they show me daily what it means to commit to your vision.
As we get older we tend to get bogged down in the “realities” of what we think we should do or what we think others will say. What would happen if we allow ourselves to have that fun, allow ourselves to share our vision of what our business could be, paint the picture for others to share in their minds?
In the earlier exercise, I am sure there are things you could do today to inch closer to the vision. Change something in the store. Even if it is small, it moves you closer to the vision you had. How were you moving through your day in the vision? Is there something your could change in what you are currently doing?
Think of it as steps to renovating a house. You have the picture in your mind and then you set out, wall-by-wall, room-by-room until you have completed the project.
A few words of caution. Don’t get overwhelmed with what is not there. It is easy to just give up because there is many things to change but pick a few things you can implement immediately to help build momentum.
For example:
- How did your employees look and act in your vision. If there is something different than what you see currently, point that out to them and work to hold them accountable.
- How did your showroom or place of business etc. look in the vision? Could you straighten some things up or add a few photos or remove old times that have no use. Get your team involved in helping keep this clean, neat, and up-to-date.
One last thing I will caution you on is creating the vision for someone else. When you try to figure out how to please others and lose yourself in the process this way of setting goals will not work. It is like wearing a suit that does not fit. When you are settled into who and what you are and create what you believe works, it is a much better starting point
So tell me, what do you see when you look at your company. What do you see that is not there? Keep smiling. It is not that far away.
Glenn Pasch is the current COO of PCG Digital Marketing & PCG Consulting as well as a writer, National Speaker and Trainer.