TRANSFORM

What Factors are Getting in the Way of Transforming your Business?

What does documenting your vision and aligning your management team actually mean? In short, the reality is that thinking about business strategy requires a significant investment of time from management teams.

Often, dealing with shorter term priorities can get in the way and deflect leadership focus away from activities related to transforming your business long term, in favour of fighting fires or concentrating resources on delivering the annual plan.

I believe that in order for organisations to evolve and continuously move forward business leaders need to ensure that adequate time is allocated not only to setting out and managing the short term plan, but also thinking about and setting out the strategies to achieve the longer term vision for the organisation – whatever that might be. And, it is the clear articulation of that vision that is a critical and potentially challenging step for many.

Usually businesses are pretty much well adept at setting out their financial aspirations.

Vision

What I have seen less evidence of is firstly a clearly defined vision statement, and the translation of that statement into a visualisation or model of what the words and numbers actually mean in terms of transforming your business long term.

Physically mapping this out, on paper, for all stakeholders to see is hugely beneficial. It enables your management team to have a consistent view of the future; it ignites debate; it facilitates discussions around options and creates the foundation to move forward with the next level discussions: By setting out the ‘what’ and aligning opinions around it, you can move onto the ‘how’.

Better still it holds the board and leadership teams to account. By nailing their colours to the mast it becomes an unforgettable activity of the business. It runs through every facet, every board meeting and every leadership and management decision.

All of this combines to make it a real, tangible and regularly visited aspect of the organisation’s routine and regimen.

For more about documenting your vision and aligning your management team please get in touch with me today. I am always happy to talk.