Part 28: Stay True to the Vision

After you’ve spent so much time identifying problems, planning your strategy, building your team, and marketing your idea, it can be easy to lose track of why you started the journey in the first place. Sometimes it feels like the process has been a full-out battle, or at the least, an uphill climb. Other times it feels like there are so many viewpoints and so many people ideas flowing that it’s hard to remember the original vision.

But a vision is necessary to help you stay on track. It reminds you of why you do what you do, and it acts as a filter for the people you hire, the jobs you commit to, the policies you consider. Your vision guides your business. There are two important things you can do today to help keep the vision at the forefront of your efforts.

1. Write it Down
Schedule a time to meet with your team to write out your vision. Bring your idea of what the vision is with you, and lead an open meeting to discover what your team members think the vision is. Then, write it out and agree upon it. A few helpful things your vision should include are,

• Who. Who is on the team? Who is your market niche? Who are you reaching?
• What. What do you do? What service do you provide? What goal are you trying to reach?
• Why. Describe what motivates your work. Share your passion for what you do and for whom you do it.

2. Keep It at the Forefront
The simple act of writing out your vision with your team will automatically help you stay true to it. However, a vision that is written down and then tucked into a drawer or filed away isn’t much good to anyone.

Look for creative ways to keep it in front of your team. Some companies post it on a big banner in the foyer of the workplace, but this doesn’t really help translate the vision into everyday work. Here are a few creative ideas to help your team keep the vision in front of them:

• Send daily emails with creative ways to implement the vision in that day’s work.
• Give each of team members a tactile item with vision posted on it, like a mousepad or laptop cover, so that they’ll see it constantly before them.
• Discuss the vision in team meetings. Be open and ask your team members how they think you are all measuring up in your effort?

How do you keep the vision at the forefront of your business?