Every year millions of business owners create a strategic business plan.
They begin with a “vision” identifying what they want to accomplish in the twelve months ahead. They start out strong, making decisions that are focused only on the end goal.
A few months go by and they find themselves being dragged off track by everything from escalating sales to employee turnover. It’s common to struggle with staying the course but critical if you are to reach the goals you planned for this year.
If you are like me, you can hardly believe half of 2017 has almost come and gone, but it has, and now is the time to evaluate your progress. It also may be time to adjust your plans to get back on track with the “vision” for this year.
5 Tips to Adjust & Maintain Your Business Vision
If you are looking for ways to evaluate and update your company vision or to actively maintain your current one, here are a few steps to guide you through the process.
1. Review Your Business Performance
In regards to your company vision, what are the performance statistics year-to-date? Are you on track? Do adjustments need to be made to your business strategy?
Ask yourself:
- What is going well? Where are we on track?
- Where are we behind on our plans?
- What needs to change?
- What opportunities did we miss?
2. Keep What Works
When you identify those strategies and actions that went well, build on them.
What produced the highest profit, most efficiency, and best performance?
Those are the strategies and actions you will want to repeat and even boost expecting even better outcomes.
Who were your best clients and what did they buy? Keep these and repeat.
3. Change What’s Not Working
Now, turn your attention to what did not go quite right but still has potential.
These may be goals you are on track for or even slightly behind. What needs to change for you to realize your vision for this year?
Be sure you are reasonable about what you can make up in the months ahead, then:
Adjust your “vision” for success
Be very clear with your intentions.
Outline specific and positive facts covering the amount of business you want to create, the income you want to make, the number of clients you want to have, the products and services you will sell, growth plans or reorganization intentions, expense reductions, new contracts, and markets you want to penetrate.
Adjust your measurements
Are the goals you set at the beginning of the year still appropriate? Increase or decrease as needed.
Remember that a measurement is most powerful when it is inspiring. It should be attainable but a little out of your reach. If you do not have measurements, set them.
Many of my clients include revenue, numbers of clients, percentages of active accounts, ratios of expense to income, staff size, rankings, and your volume of products or services.
Use whatever best describes your goals in a measurable way.
4. Let it Go!
Even the best-laid plans sometimes need to change.
Now is the time to recognize any portion of your plan that is not realistic for this year or that is not performing as you had expected. Let them go for this year or forever.
Here are few things to consider:
- Is there a product, price or market that is not serving you well?
- What objections are there to buying and are they valid?
- Do you have the right team to reach your vision and goals or can you replace, upgrade, eliminate?
5. Update your Action Plan
Match the actions you plan to take to the time, resources, and expectations you have for the days ahead.
Set target dates you can live with. Give yourself plenty of time to accomplish everything on the list before the year comes to a close.
Now take a deep breath and acknowledge that all your possibilities are ahead of you. Be clear that you cannot drive results looking in the rear-view mirror. Close the door on all that is passed and focus your attention on all that lies in the months to come.
Remember, success in life and business is a journey, not a destination, and be grateful for the opportunities you have yet to realize.
Define & Refine Your Business Vision with Sherry Jordan
Whether you’re starting from scratch or you have a company vision that needs some tweaking to reach its full potential, Sherry Jordan can help!
Sherry has coached many business owners to become successful in their strategy and business goals.
For help with your company vision and for comprehensive business consulting, contact Sherry Jordan today!