Keeping your business on track and moving forward

By Lisa Krikawa

Whether your company consists of dozens of employees or just you, it needs not only a vision, but also a plan to achieve it. A vision without action is simply a daydream, but action without a vision is like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping it will spell success.

Your vision for your company is like a snapshot of the future. A great vision is fully fleshed out, with numbers and images in Technicolor. Where do you see yourself and your company in the future? Answer this question carefully, because what you see is what you just may get. Every action you take will be guided, however subtly, by this belief that you have about where you are headed. And be clear and optimistic, because no vision, or a pessimistic one, are both pretty clear destinations as well.

My vision for my company has changed throughout the years. Certain constants have always been in place, such as the image of a robust company with increasing revenue and profit margins, increasing philanthropy, highly sophisticated systems, and sufficient staff have allowed me to work on the business rather than in it. But other things have changed based upon what was working and what was not working.

I started with the idea of being top dog in the craft show circuit, headed toward wholesale, and eventually saw my company as an internet giant. I’ve readjusted the course of the ship when I saw a clearer path to the constant. It may sound easy; however, these changes were not made on a whim. They were usually accompanied by a lot of struggle.

For example, when the economy crashed in 2008, I thought I had things all figured out. My online business had taken off years earlier and we were slammed and growing by leaps and bounds. Then BAM! The recession hit and I felt suspended in mid-air like a jet when the engines cut out. To survive, we pivoted to take advantage of the quickly emerging “shop local” craze. At the time, we were still a hidden gem in our local market. To adapt, we moved to a retail location, placing some of our eggs into a new basket. My vision morphed into something new.

Know Your Why—It’s Your Fuel

Whether starting a new business, hitting dips in the road, reaching major road blocks, or achieving major milestones, the key to your success is always knowing your “Why.” Your Why helps guide your thought processes, your decisions; and it is the fuel behind your actions.

To determine your Why, ask yourself: Why are you doing what you are doing? This is not about what you are making. Your “What” is your product or service. That’s the easy one. You know what you make or do.

You also know “How” you do it. Your How is your secret sauce, your proprietary techniques, your unique selling proposition. It sets you apart, and it’s the mechanism behind your What.

Yet neither the What nor the How is the source of inspiration. Why is at the core, and it will inspire you and your staff to excel. It will inspire your customers to buy. According to Simon Sinuk, the author of Start with Why, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Why did you start your company? Why do you do what you do? Why are you still in the business you’re in? Your Why is not about making money or having freedom. You could be doing any number of things to achieve those. Your Why is about what you believe in. And this can take some real thought.

Some companies are born through the inception of a great Why. Southwest Airlines was created so that even the common man could fly, and it would be fun. Apple was created to challenge the status quo, and to think different.

My Why is: love matters. This belief inspires the decisions I make; my relationships with my staff, customers, and vendors; and the designs we create. I can’t say I’ve always operated with a clear Why, but as my clarity has grown, my business has grown, and my staff and my customers have become happier and more loyal.

Your Why is intimately tied to who you are. You will know you’ve found your Why when you connect with it on a deep emotional level. And when that happens, you will jump out of bed, tackle challenges, and push through any obstacles because your passion will be ignited. (For help discovering your Why, check out the “Discover Your Why” sidebar on page 36 for additional resources.)

Create a Vision Board—It’s Your Guiding Star

When you’re clear on your vision (what the bright future looks like) and your Why (the beliefs behind your organization), it’s time to commit them to paper in both written and visual forms. To help cement your vision, put together a collection of pictures, images, and words that represent it. This can be in the form of a physical or digital collage, with images, drawings, words, and quotes.

Display your vision board in a clear place. I have mine set as my desktop background, and with two large monitors, it shows up on both sides bright and beautiful every morning.

Once you have Why determined and your vision board laid out, you’re ready to set some goals to help you get there.

Set Goals and Take Action—Your Vehicle to Success

The single most important thing you want to remember about setting goals is that you need to accomplish them. Nothing will kill the wind in your sails faster than establishing lofty goals and never actually reaching them. Does that mean that you need to dampen your vision? Not at all.

Consider using this five-step process to creating and achieving your goals.

Step 1: Establish both long-term and short-term goals. I like to give myself three months for the short term (such as specific goals for each quarter), and three years for the long term. If you keep the short-term goal timeframe tight, it will keep you on your toes.

Choose a goal for each department of your organization. When you’re setting your goals, make sure they are SMART goals: Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic (yet perhaps a little Risky), and Time-Sensitive.

Write down what each goal is. Be very specific so you can know exactly when you’ve reached it. “Profitable” is not measurable. A positive net income of one dollar is profitable. Set a specific number.

Step 2: Break each goal down into components, and then break those down into smaller components, and those into bite-size or daily portions. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So if you first break down a goal into smaller chunks, say an ear or a leg, and then decide what needs to be eaten today, before you know it, your elephant is devoured.

Step 3: There’s no gentle way to say this: Just do it. You have your plan. Your goal has been portioned into what needs to be done today. There’s simply no other option but to do it. If you feel resistance or procrastination at this stage of the game, go back to your Why and your vision board, and hold your vision firmly in your mind’s eye.

Spend a few quiet minutes each morning looking at your board and confirming one to three things that must get done that day, and then do them. Making steady progress will help to make every day and every bite not only palatable, but delicious.

Step 4: Remain open to new information. The course of your organization has been set by your vision. Why you are on this course has been set by your beliefs. Chances are, how you arrive at the final destination, although carefully planned by your clear goals, will change.

If you are captain of a ship, you will have to deal with new information that can affect your journey, such as the weather. You have to make adjustments to stay on course. As owner of a company, you will also be collecting information, such as trends, what works, what doesn’t work. Continue to evaluate the new information against your assigned course.

Step 5: Keep your goals flexible. As the captain of the ship, what if your ship, or even possibly your destination, goes up in flames? Do you hold onto the last plank of your ship until it sinks to the ocean floor? No. You let go and re-evaluate. You find a lifeboat. You build a new ship. You might actually make a few improvements.

Many businesses and career-minded individuals had to do just that in the face of the economic crash of 2008. Many who refused to see the world differently and find new solutions never made it to their destinations.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

As you work through the five steps to achieve your goals, you’re likely to lose focus as things pop up to derail your course. To avoid them, you must first identify them. Your number-one enemy is the opposite of focus—it is distraction. It just may be what your biggest problems stem from. The four big distractions are: Social, Technological, Environmental, and Mental.

Social. Do you enjoy chatting? It’s easy to get pulled into conversations at work that are not in alignment with your goal for the day. That doesn’t mean you can’t engage in any conversations. It means clear communication and establishing boundaries, especially during time that you’ve carved out for work.

You can establish what interruptions are acceptable. For instance, if I have a new employee, and we get on a personal subject, I’ll allow the sidetrack because I’m building an important relationship, and helping the new team member feel welcome and understood. Remember, whatever interruptions you allow into your life is up to you. Don’t pick up the phone and then get annoyed at the person calling because you were busy. Turn off your ringer, or simply don’t answer the phone. Take responsibility for what interruptions you allow from others.

Technological. There is nothing more insidious than the massive availability of electronic media to dampen your flow. Take a risk and set all your cell phone notifications to none. Want to take an even bigger risk? Turn off your ringer, at least when you are task oriented.

You could also try a news fast. Or a Netflix fast. Or a social media fast. It all depends on the distraction for which you’ve given up your clear thinking. Go one month without it, and read informative, relevant books instead, or allow yourself downtime to daydream. Power up your electronic center with new ideas and learn more about what you love or what you lack.

Environmental. Each object in your surroundings is actually a piece of information that your brain has to filter or choose to ignore. Although you may have become really good at ignoring the mess, it’s still etching away your brain power.

Do you or your co-workers have to spend an extra 10 seconds or a minute looking for certain things? Taking a little time out to organize or clean can make room for improved productivity.

Mental. And finally, the most difficult distraction of all: You. It’s said that a person has tens of thousands of thoughts a day, and up to 80 percent or more of them are negative. You can start to become consciously aware of your thoughts through journaling, meditation, and/or coaching. A daily practice of mindfulness can bring you more quickly and accurately to your goals. It can have a blessed side effect of making you more present, not only with your co-workers or staff, but also with your family.

Celebrate Success!

Throughout all of this busy doing, remember to take some time out to celebrate small and large successes. Find things to be grateful for, and enjoy the journey. In the words of the great businessman and investor Peter Lynch: “If you’re grateful for your job, if you love what you’re doing, if you’re inspired by the vision, and you’re enthusiastically working, your company will go up in value.”