An interesting thing happened in a meeting yesterday. I was talking with a prospect and we were talking about the short comings of their company. One of the problems this company had was each department had their own idea what the value of the company was. This department thought it was what they did, this one thought is was their part of the business. You see the problem is the company has no vision and each department doesn't see where they fit into the puzzle.
A vision is extremely important for a company. What was it the Cheshire Cat said - where are you trying to go? If you don't know then any road will get you there.
This is true for a company as well. If you do not take control and direct your company where ever you end up is just fine. The problem is few companies are fine with where they end up.
It is not only a matter of taking control of your company, but creating a vision that builds energy and excitement in your employees, vendors and clients.
If you are headed for success, people are excited to ride the coattails all the while helping you get there.
Whenever I talk about vision I discuss John F. Kennedy's vision to get a man on the moon in 10 years or Coke wanting a coke machine on every street corner. These are easy to understand and if the cause is a good one you get people on board and they become fast and furious at helping you reach this goal. In JFK's day we as Americans weren't going to let the Russians beat us, not during the cold war. There was a passion driving this thing. A "I will be the best in the world" kind of thing that was easy to buy into and do whatever it took to create.
So here is the hard question What is your vision? As I was preaching the value of vision to this person, I felt they were on board with me and then something happened. They asked me "What is your vision?" talking about the Brandwise "vision". I almost choked. Although we do have a vision statement, and review it from time to time to stay focused and on track, I realized there is a flaw in our system. We do not have an easy to relay vision. Something so simple it can be spouted off at the drop of a hat. Something that becomes our mantra for both external and internal use.
So sadly I realized we have some work to do. We need to simplify this statement into a elevator speech. We already have a lot of the details, but this is keeping us from getting the power and passion behind our current vision.
So for us to create the brand we want Brandwise to become by 2020 we need to get focused and create that spark that lights the fire to get there. And, although this question caught me off guard today, I am hoping this is the last time.
We are going to work on this right away so watch out. Once we nail it down, maybe we will post a follow up story to this article.
To the gentleman in my meeting today, I thank you for calling me out. I will get back to you soon.
To all the other businesses out there.
What is your vision?
