This article is about clarity of purpose for you, your team, and your business. It includes simple yet powerful steps that when discussed, analyzed, agreed upon, and written down, will provide a clear expectations and a compelling direction for the upcoming year to help you accomplish anything.

The steps outlined in this article are not confusing or difficult. However, many business owners, teams and individuals don’t do it. Why? Here are the excuses that get in the way:

• not a high priority item
• don’t have enough time
• my team won’t want to participate
• I am not comfortable leading this discussion
• executives should be doing this stuff, not us
• my business is doing fine the way it is
• my team is doing fine the way it is
• I am doing fine the way I am

I can relate to many of these excuses because I have used them myself and have heard them being used in companies I’ve worked for. These excuses are “vision crushers” and must be seen as obstacles to be removed.  I promise that once you begin using these steps, it becomes a method for accomplishing anything as long as you have the right attitude and determination to implement what you have defined.

Step 1: Identify Values
What are the values that you, your business and/or team live by? What is important to each team member? What is important to the team? What are the standards by which the team makes decisions? How are actions and words a model for values? Are we rewarding behavior that exemplifies our values?

When a team has clarity of values and each team member personally aligns with those values, that is when team commitment, loyalty and pride is high.

Step 2: Develop a Compelling Vision
Where do you want to be a year from now? What will it look like? How will your team be working together? How does this vision of the future appeal to team members values defined in Step 1?

Developing a story about your vision for the future is the only way to engage others and help them see the possibilities and opportunities ahead.

Step 3: Determine Business Model(s) OR How To Support Them
A business model describes the rationale of how a business creates, captures and delivers value. What model of doing business will help you achieve your vision? It may include direct business models, distribution models, low cost carrier business models, loyalty business models, subscription business models, etc. You may use more than 1 model to grow your business and create new revenue streams.  If your team is not involved in determining the business model then the conversation should be about understanding the model and figuring out the best way to support it.

Step 4: Outline Goals
What are the goals within your business model that are necessary to accomplish your vision? This is where you would identify improvement goals, product goals, revenue goals, customer goals, etc. Each goal should have a time frame associated with it. Also, if it’s a big goal then you should break it down into smaller more easily achievable sub goals.

Step 5: Define Methods and MeasuresStep 6: Identify Resources
What resources (skills, experience, people, technology, tools, etc.) do you currently have available to help you accomplish your goals? What resources do you need? How will you get these resources and by when?

Using these 6 steps when discussing goals is the best way I know to chart a clear path to success. It is simple, straightforward and effective and represents a strategic plan for growth. If you think this method could work for your business and you would like help implementing it with your team, send us an email – we’re here to help.