As a business owner, you deal with a lot more than what most would understand. 

We all know that having goals for our business is critical; but equally important is having a clear vision of what you want your business to be in 3-5 years.

A clear vision provides you with a destination within a specified timeframe – it’s hard to imagine any of us going on a car journey without a clear destination.  Breaking it down, once we know where we’re heading, it’s then just a case of setting goals, and implementing strategies to get there. In fact, a clear vision is the necessary precursor to strategic planning.

Furthermore, if you can’t clearly describe where the business is going, how can you expect your employees and family members to help you get there?

Some business owners will say that they have some ideas in their heads of where the business is heading.  However this is very different to:

• A clear single vision
• Which has been critiqued
• Put to paper
• Shared with people who are critical to helping the company reach its vision. 

A crystal-clear, shared vision helps define the values of your company and its employees, and essentially helps guide the behaviour of everyone.

A clear, shared vision will also bring employees on board; facilitating buy-in through what could be called a shared purpose. It has been shown time and time again that a clearly communicated business vision leads to improved productivity and efficiency.  You’ll be amazed at how much your employees want to help, when they know what you’ve got in mind.

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction 

John F. Kennedy