Set the Direction of Your Business with this Simple Activity
Every organization needs to strategically plan to be successful. I know this from the academic work I have completed, and I also know this from the practical experience I’ve had working in the school system, with other community organizations, and co-managing my consulting firm.
Unfortunately, many organizations don’t strategically plan, or they do so in an unstructured, inconsistent way.
This is not because they don’t want to be successful. Many just don’t know how. They simply need a strategy.
For those of you who have studied strategic management or entrepreneurship, you will know that there is a focus on starting first and foremost with a good idea, a solid marketing strategy, and then riding that wave of opportunity until it ends.
A lot of companies do this and some of these companies make a lot of money.
But according to Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, authors of the book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies – people who have built visionary companies - those companies that have been around for approximately 100 years and have extraordinary long-term performance and have withstood the test of time - do not behave or think that way.
Interestingly, few of these visionary companies began with a great idea. In fact, some of them began with outright failures. But like the story of the tortoise and the hare, visionary companies have won the long race. They have not only generated long-term financial returns, they have also woven themselves into the fabric of society.
How?
Instead of seeing the company as a vehicle for their products or services, they saw their products or services as a vehicle for the company.
This is what the great companies do – they focus on why they do it, not what they do.
They start with clarity of purpose and finding a cause for action, not a course of action.
Only after a company figures out their cause for action should they start to consider their how or the actions they need to take to realize their belief. Finally, through that action, a company will create a product or service.
Most companies start with their product or service and then figure out how they will do it. Some companies don’t ever discover why they do what they do. But inspiring leaders and visionary companies do the reverse. They work from the inside out.
This is because, as Simon Sinek says, “People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”
Whether you are part of a leadership team, a department, a partnership or if you are an entrepreneur, you must begin with your why.
Starting with your why will help you plan for the long term, choosing which products to launch or which programming you should implement. It will steer the direction of your company. So often we deviate from the mission because an exciting opportunity comes up and soon, we lose focus, and the purpose of what we are doing.
We must stay true to our purpose.
This is step one of any strategic plan. Start with your why.
To get you started on this process, begin by brainstorming reasons why your company or department exists. Reduce it into a simple XY statement: We exist to make X products for Y customers. Then make that sentence compelling by explaining why you do this - why you provide this service or product for these specific customers.
For example, why do you provide computer programming to schools? Or why do you lead health and safety training? Figuring out why you want to provide a particular service or product to a specific customer-base is the first step to steering your company’s direction.
Start here. Start with your Why.
Once you do that you can begin to figure out how you’re going to be profitable as you provide that product or service to your clients. You may even change or modify what you are offering.
But first things first. Start with Why.
As a challenge today, try this activity. It will only take a few minutes to do and will set you and your business on the path to strategic planning and business growth.
To learn more about strategic planning, join us for our FREE strategic planning workshop. Register below.