Setting out a business direction, otherwise called a Vision, is important for any business. It helps to support critical business decisions, provides a structure against which business progress can be measured, and is a key communication tool for both inside and outside the business.
Your vision should describe a future-state for your business a number of years away; three years is a good timeframe as it is far enough to allow you to set stretching targets and close enough to be achievable. Some of the elements that your vision might contain include:
- Market, customers, offers: the products and services you are going to offer, the share of the market you are aiming for, the number and nature of your customers, how you are going to differentiate your business and enhance your identity
- Revenues and costs: revenue and profit per partner/fee-earner, cost base for the business
- Resources: premises, IT systems, number of partners/staff, exit and succession plans for partners
From this simple list it is clear how important a vision is for business planning purposes. Your vision should be supported by a Strategy that outlines how you intend to meet the goals set out in the vision. Your strategy should cover each of the years in your vision and describe what you are going to do to achieve the targets. The very first year is your annual business plan and should describe actions, resources, costs, and timescales in detail; subsequent years should be described in outline. This is not complicated but it does take discipline and as a business leader you should be able to get on top of this with a little professional help.
Most importantly your vision and strategy are living things and need to used, reviewed, updated, and refreshed regularly – at least once a year, preferably twice. That way you will be keep on top of developments within and without your business and be better able to maximise any opportunities and minimise problems.
If your business currently does not have a clear vision and supporting strategy, ask yourself these questions:
- Where is my business going and what am I trying to achieve?
- Do I have a clear view of business costs and opportunities and am I managing them as effectively as I could be?
- How effective and coherent are the business decisions I take with regard to the future of the business?
- Can all of the partners and staff describe the ethos and purpose of the business?
- If my competitors have a clear plan and I do not, how disadvantaged am I?
For many firms this last question may be the most important. In difficult economic periods it is imperative that you know how you are going to drive your business forward. Also, you can be certain that any new entrants under the Alternative Business Structure model will have a clear plan as to how to obtain customers and market share (your clients and your market share). They are planning, so you should be planning as well.
Jonathan Brassington is a business performance improvement advisor who specialises in three areas: Vision and Strategy Development, Knowledge and Information Management, and Innovation.
