You hear of great business leaders or organisers of investment events espousing the virtues of ‘having a vision’. Have you ever considered what that really meant? And just why is this virtual concept so important for all of us, even for those just starting off on the road towards commercial glory?

Step back a moment. The idea of ‘vision’ has been around since day one. Look at Joseph in the Bible. For him, it was not about older siblings or fellow cellmates, but where these events would lead him to and why. Similarly, Moses – however great the story of the Exodus, that in itself was not the end game.

The importance of a solid vision is it lands you with concrete focus point to aim at. Thus, you know which resources to gather that will help you to succeed. Let me explain.

As a business coach, I ask people what is their vision. The frequent reply is: ‘we want to make money, and lots of it’. I say fine and suggest that they buy a lottery ticket rather than sit down with me. ‘Oh, that is not what we meant.’ … And at that point, they have little further to offer. A road to nowhere.

Yes, a vision actually has to be something specific.  What I look to create is a sentence like: “In five years time, I want to have created a business that will be selling X to Y, securing a place in the local community and driving a salary for my family in the region of a million bucks a year.”

The fact of the matter is that so many businesses drift. As they do not have to invest resources into moving towards precise goals, they become tied down with putting out fires. To give you some examples of what I have seen in the past year:

• A retail operation so concerned about petty staff politics that its sales suffered. That has had a knock-on effect re stock management and other issues.
• Several high-techies have emphasized their innovative technologies to the point of ignoring what they are trying to establish – a business. Thus, the investors have been turned off.
• Service providers insistent on telling off potential customers why they have made mistakes by not coming to them in the first place. The customers just move on again.

Small business owner or CEO of a large company; Just starting out or been in commerce for years; Whoever you are, just take a few moments to ask yourself what you are truly trying to achieve. A concise answer should throw you in some  very helpful and new directions.