Impact of Leadership

Casting Your 3 Year Vision Plan

  2. Share
PATRICK BOOTH PATRICK BOOTH
0 0

Recently, I was asked by our executive business coach to cast a 3-year vision plan for the company. It sounded like an easy task till I realized the deadline for this plan was coming up fast. There were so many questions and doubts in my mind on how to do this well. I started out by doing research on where “the experts” felt the direction of the next 3 years would be going. As I was reading it was clear that I needed to not follow the insights of others but really look at what was being successful for our company in the past and currently. I needed to trust my instincts and put together a 3-year plan I knew was realistic for the company I know. Here is what I did to get this 3-year plan put together.

 

  1. What would be the #1 success for the company in the next 3 years?
  2. What must the company focus on to ensure our success?
  3. What dreams do I have for the business?
  4. What calculated risk should the business take?
  5. What has worked well for us in the past that should be brought back?

 

Grow Your Net Income

Everyone talks about the total revenue number because it’s usually the largest. We get ranked in our industry by # of employees and annual revenue. Those are great numbers to build up, but I learned in the past nine years as President that the #1 number I need to focus on is the NET INCOME. This determines if your company is healthy and truly growing for the future. As a leader, I must ask myself, “Am I running the operations well enough to take care of my people, pay my bills and have enough left over to build for the future?” To protect your business, you must know your financials inside and out. In the past year I realized how important it is to have clear financials so you can lead your company well. If you don’t, you will be driving the ship without a compass or guiding instruments. How do you know if you are in shallow water? What happens when you can’t see what is ahead of you? How do you not allow a crash to happen? It’s so important you take time to study your financials with your certified public accountant and keep asking questions till its crystal clear to you. Your company will be successful when you can earn enough money to pay your bills and reinvest leftover money into your people, tools, and processes.

 

Grow Your Top Services

I started a phrase eleven years ago “All Roads Lead To Services!” because I knew this was our #1 focus for the next twenty-five of our business. It was a new focus that was going to build a stronger foundation for our future. Over the years we have offered many services but looking at the next three years required me to see what was important to our industry and what we did well as a solution provider. Taking time to analyze and rank your services will give your direction on how you can grow your business quickly. I’m thankful to have a wonderful and gifted employee who does all the analysis for us. He gives me clear insights to the opportunities won, how many clients use the service and how those services helped the business grow its’ net income. I was able to see a plan to focus on the top three areas that our clients look to us as top solution providers. It’s so important for every leader to know the top services the business offers so you can continue to build success from those offerings.

 

Dream Big

It was fun for me to dream big on how I would want to see the company be successful in the next three years outside of financials. I want the company to be recognized by others for our expertise. It’s wonderful that we believe in our offerings, but it really is special when others see it from outside of your team. Over the years I have enjoyed reading the top lists in all industries. My goals is to achieve the top list as a top solutions provider in three territory markets. I want to help others feel confident in our services. One of the best ways to build that confidence is by earning a top ranking in your industry. Use this recognition to build excitement in your team. Advertise the recognition to win new clients and top talent. Leave no doubt that you are a top solutions provider in your industry.

 

Take A Calculated Risk

I am not a huge risk taker. My wife and I joke that we are the only couple to go to Vegas and not gamble. That is not 100% true. When my wife was in the bathroom, I took a dollar and played a slot machine. Guess what happened? I won nothing. I do love playing Texas Hold Em on my iPhone because I am not playing with real money. In business, I like to take calculated risks not foolish ones. Over the years we have tried many things through marketing and events. It’s fun to try new and exciting approaches to win business opportunities but it was always within a budget. I needed to ask myself, “What big and calculated risk should I take to help the business grow in the next 3 years? What would help our future?” Think on how you could grow quickly vs. organically. This is not a quick decision but taking a calculated risk should be on a leader’s mind if you want to see calculated growth.

 

Rinse & Repeat

What has worked well for your business in the past, but you have shelved lately? I look back at our success over the years and see we have done great job with our events. We want our clients and prospects to experience fun while building trust with our team. Covid shelved a lot of events and its still slowly ramping up. To build our next 3 years, we need to get back to doing events with others. You cannot replace human connection with a video call. Its important the event brings awareness and knowledge about the company’s services. People want to work with people they can trust and that begins with how you communicate your services. Help identity the problem your clients are facing and provide a solution that will take that problem away. Making it easy for everyone to understand so the decision to use your services is the clear choice for them. Every person wants to feel valued and appreciated so show them the love. We plan on doing that with a lot of events over the next 3 years!

 

 

*JOIN US FOR A LIVE EVENT ON FEBRUARY 9TH*

Resilient Leadership: Leadership in Uncharted Territory
With guest speaker Tod Bolsinger!

Register HERE
Use discount code: MEMBER23 for 15% off registration

 

Community tags

This content has 0 tags that match your profile.

Goals & Challenges

Vision Casting

Level of Management

C-Suite/Executive
Entry Level Management
Middle Management
Management Aspirations

Comments

To leave a comment, login or sign up.

Related Content

0
Creative Disruption Comes During Hard Times
The past three years have given leaders a lot of opportunity to bring creativity into the workplace. We have battled COVID, lack of inventory, transportation/logistics disasters and culture attacks. There were two options for leaders: Retreat or Reinvent.   Those that retreated gave up and probably sold their business or closed it. I am not faulting anyone who did either one because I had the same thought myself. This was no easy situation and unfortunately not everyone was viewed as an essential business. Even if the business was, that did not mean it could make enough money to keep going. It could have been the best option to move on and that is okay. It’s your business and your decision!   Some leaders chose to reinvent their way of doing business. It might have meant moving employees’ home, finding new partners for inventory, marketing themselves as being essential during the COVID crisis to others and trying to keep their culture intact. It took a lot of creativity to survive. I know we did that in all areas of our business. I was proud of how we came up with new ways to connect with our clients and employees. It was a time for us to lean into the difficult situation and become a better company by thinking outside of the box.   Confession time, change is difficult and I hate it. I know this whole blog is about how change creates growth but it does not mean I like it. Not having to change brings me comfort knowing what I will get from past results. However, my growth came during change or difficult times. Why does it work that way? am still trying to grow myself so please know that you are not going to ever hear me say “I got it all figured out!” What can change create for all of us? A new way of thinking!   Creative disruption comes during hard times.   How?   Change gives you a new perspective. You can make excuses, or you can take action to create progress. You can’t move forward till you decide to move forward. It is a gift to see things from a different view so you can come up with new ideas on how to solve your problems. I use a phrase often “You aren’t stuck!” I have found often there is a third solution that is not easy to see but it’s there when you take time to look.   Have the courage to make changes.   Before COVID I was asked often if I would allow the company to be remote. I was clueless to what was coming in 2020 so I said often “There is no way CCB will ever be remote. It’s too hard to do our job from home and we will lose our culture.” Well, I had to do what was best for the company and employees in 2020 so I sent everyone home. Was I scared? You bet! However, we got everyone the equipment they needed to work from home, marketed to our clients, and did a lot of happy hours/social events on TEAMS. If you don’t change then you are limiting your success and future.   Leaders take risks. It’s okay to be afraid but don’t let fear stop you from being the leader that your company is needing you to be.   Creative disruption allows you to focus on the WHY of your decisions and WHERE you want to lead the company. Inspire your team to change before your competition does. This does not mean everyone will follow immediately with the same passion you have for the change. It’s a great opportunity to build TRUST with your team. The key to building trust is being a great communicator. Disarm critics by explaining the WHY and HOW the change will give better results for everyone. Lead with confidence and help your team believe.   Ask yourself these few questions… What is not working that you have been doing for a long time? What change needs to happen so you can see a new result and inspiration for your team? What risk do you need to take that makes you feel afraid but could really bring huge success to your numbers? NEED MORE?  Check out the IOL Community Groups to connect with like-minded leaders! Go to our YouTube and LinkedIn pages for more encouraging content.   We’ve got over 100 podcasts to aid in your growth as a leader!
0
Happy New Year. Now Fire Yourself!
My dad taught me that it’s important to fire yourself at the end of the year, wait 10 seconds, soak up that horrible feeling, and then rehire yourself. Why in the world would my dad tell me to do this each year?   Give yourself a scare and new outlook. It’s better to pretend to fire yourself before it happens for real. Now strategize! What would you do differently if you were fired and rehired for the same job? You can’t grow to greater success if you don’t look at your failures and change them.   Yes, my dad could have been a Jedi Knight because he motivated himself and others through mind games. Most of those mind games made him and others extremely successful. I thought he was crazy when I was younger. Now I try to do everything he taught me.   It’s better to pretend to fire yourself before it happens for real.   When people get comfortable, they can become lazy, which can lead to poor results. Poor results can eventually lead to one being fired. Don’t wait for that awkward and regrettable moment. I’ve never met anyone that enjoys losing. Go ahead and make that awkward firing moment happen on your terms. Write yourself a termination letter and put reasons behind it. Punch yourself in the gut(words not literally) and make it hurt so you can learn.   What would you do differently if you were fired and rehired for the same job?   It’s so important to motivate yourself to think about new strategies to prevent becoming comfortable. You want to drive in better results every year, but you don’t change anything. How is that working for you? Nothing changes if nothing changes! If you had a record-breaking year…good for you…now get over it. No one cares what you did yesterday, last year, or five years ago. Business is about what you produce month-over-month and year-over-year. People don’t get fired because they are growing. People get fired when they get lazy or stop taking initiative to learn. How can you continue to push yourself to prove to everyone you are not playing it safe? What must you do to grow your success?   ACTION ITEM: Take 15 minutes and make a strategic list. Make sure you put these strategies into practice by putting each one on your calendar.   You can’t grow to greater success if you don’t look at your failures and change them.   No Time Management Your day is chaos. You feel no control in your day. You feel like nothing ever gets done that you want. Poor Communication You hold people to expectations that you did not share with them. People don’t live in your head. Use your words! No routine Schedule your work duties, and don’t get distracted. Give yourself time to think. Make sure to take PTO and recharge your batteries. Boring Meetings No one is excited to be there. No conflict. Watching the minutes for it to end. Talk Too Much – Poor Listening Don’t dominate the conversation. Make sure you shut your mouth and open your ears to hear what others have to say. Show respect to others by listening. Too Many Excuses For Missing Deadlines Nothing is worse than a boss demanding deadlines but the boss lives by double standards. Get your work finished on time. Set the bar with your actions. No Humility Say the words “I’m sorry!” and “It’s my fault!” No one wants to follow a leader who is arrogant and full of pride. Lack of Passion Zap your heart and get excited about your work. No one wants to follow someone who is lukewarm or passive. No Accountability You need someone who will speak TRUTH into you. Make sure to ask others how you are doing and listen to their advice. Broken Trust With Failed Promises Let your YES be YES and your NO be NO. Follow through on your commitments, and show up in mind, body and spirit when you arrive. Need more?  Book us to speak at your next event, and we’ll light it up! Check out our YouTube and LinkedIn pages for more encouraging content.   If you’re looking to take your growth as a leader to the next level, we’ve got you covered. Join the Impact of Leadership Community today!
Impact of Leadership
Powered by Cause Machine. All rights reserved.