Webinar 02.03.2021 by Bill Alexander for the Swindon and Wiltshire Growth Hub
- VISION Why a compelling future is important?
Stand 3 years in the future and describe what you can see. Make it compelling and inspiring. Add colour and vibrancy, make it come alive. Think of it as a painting.
It should be the bigger the better and do not worry about how you will get there. That’s for later on. E.g. JFK and the moon mission over a decade.
Include:
What it feels like to work here
The markets you are in
What products do you have and how have they changed?
How does a customer’s experience look?
Key metrics, sales, profits, people etc
- ENROL Enlist your team.
People only support what they create. Get them involved now and add clarity to the picture. Get them on the bus.
- COMMUNICATE Embody the message.
Every day, week and month use the vision to make decisions, plan and refer to the whole time. It keeps it fresh in the minds of others. Identify what pushes you closer every day to the beacon you have created. Guide them and mentor them at every opportunity. Do no lose sight of the goal, you are the one they look to for leadership.
- EMPOWER Empower your people.
You have to empower your team to tackle the boulders they meet themselves but with the vision as a guide. Three elements:
Delegate – give them decision making power
Autonomy – leave them to figure it out and learn
Mastery – training, coaching and mentoring
- NETWORK Build your network
Nothing you come across or are facing in life is unique. Someone has been there before. If you feel you are on your own it’s a flag to do something.
Get a mentor. Someone you trust, has been there and done it before, and start your journey alongside them.
- THE 12 WEEK YEAR Bring the long term, near term.
Don’t create three-year plans which detail everything. Create a quarterly 12-week plan but as though its an annual budget. It allows you to bring out the vision and just work out the 10 or so things you need to do this quarter to get you closer. That’s 40 actions in a full year.
- SELF “Look after the tree and not the fruit”
A quote by Anthony Trucks.
Make sure you are looking after yourself mentally, emotionally and physically. Get yourself fit for the coming growth phase of the economy. When that gun goes off be fitter than the competition.
Action 1: Get a painting of your future that inspires you, create a compelling future.
Action 2: Find a mentor.
Recommended Books:
Blue Ocean Strategy by Chan Kim
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Drive by Dan Pink (also summarised in an animated YouTube video)
The 12 Week Year by Brian Moran
Good luck!