Vision setting is the process of defining success, writes John McGill.
Put simply, vision setting is a set of goals or a mission statement that a business uses to make decisions and plan direction moving forward.
Every business journey should have a destination, although one that will evolve over time. While this destination might be years, or even decades, away it’s vital that business leaders are always looking to the future and positioning their company exactly where they need to be for growth.
Of course, constantly thinking about the years ahead can be tricky for even the most ambitious leader. This is where the concept of vision setting comes into play.
Business goals set the path for the future. And vision setting is a set of goals or a mission statement that a business uses to both make decisions and plan their direction moving forward. While vision setting can change as your business grows, in the interim, it helps to show where your focus should be around investment in people, resources and assets.
A lack of business strategy and agile way of thinking can cause projects to lag, not provide on intended benefits and not meet original goals or business objectives. As a business, understanding where you’re heading and what you need to do can increase the whole organisation’s efficiency, quality and productivity – key metrics for successful organisations.
Three elements of vision setting
What direction do you want your business to go in?
To manage vision setting effectively, it’s important to have a holistic overview of your business. This means that there are many different elements that can all contribute to your ongoing vision for the future, including:
• Customer feedback: As the group of people that experiences how your business operates in the world, your customers are a great barometer for gauging what areas need improvement in the future. Aim to collect regular customer feedback through surveys where you can learn what people think and feel about your service.
• Defining goals and KPIs: Another key area is around particular goals and KPIs. As a senior leadership team, you will need to identify several important goals and KPIs around either volume, quality or value. Set realistic targets to grow the business and aim for progressive goals that always take in the current state of your organisation.
• Performance management: How will you measure how well your vision setting is going? Using performance management structures and processes, you will also need to consistently undertake reviews of core parameters to ensure your business is moving in the right direction. That way if issues are identified, changes can be made straight away.
Vision setting is the process of defining success. Looking ahead to the new year, it is important for businesses to renew the process where they evaluate, define and agree on the organisation’s mission, purpose and aspirations and ensure all activities contribute to those goals.
_________
John McGill is the CEO at Strategic Pay.
