Step Four: Business Purpose and Direction

Ascend Business Partners’ systematic approach to successfully exiting your business is called the “7 Steps to REFIRE”.

In this blog we share the fourth of the seven steps – Business Purpose and Direction

Do you have a clear vision for the future of the business? Having a clear picture of the future of the business is important for future owners so they can be confident that their investment in your business will provide future expected returns. A clear vision will capture what the business stands for and why it exists. In turn this helps businesses to be more profitable and valuable as it will inspire and motivate employees, and provide guidance for key decisions to be made by management and staff. Business strategies that support the attainment of that vision ensure businesses stay on track to achieve their objectives and become stronger and more valuable in the process.

Creating a vision for your business

As a leader, your job requires you to create a vision that portrays a compelling future in addition to inspiring people with the desire to journey with you. If you create a vision that is either inexplicable or unattainable then you and your followers will probably waste a lot of precious time and energy without getting any meaningful results.

Organisations, and the people working within them, are driven by effective visions that make them look beyond themselves and see not just how they are today but also what they could become in future. In addition, visions help to create expectations both for the organisations and for the individuals within them.

The expectations should be rooted in the present while at the same time being clear and straightforward.

1. Give a real-term definition of the vision

Although your vision may be very grand, it has to be made real for your team. This is best done by giving people a clear idea about how the organisation should look after the achievement of the vision.

2. Have a focus for the vision and a commitment to it

Although your vision could be very big and extensive, it still has to be kept concrete and focused so that everyone can understand and adopt it.

3. Share the process of developing the vision

Even the creation of top-level visions should not be exclusive to the people in top executive positions. The managers must collect input from everyone within the organisation. You can create a team made up of people from various areas. Off-site locations come with very few interruptions and you should use one of them to gather the people in your team.

After developing the vision, sell it to everyone. You have to celebrate and talk about the vision. To sell the vision you have to push into all corners of your organisation. Some organisations do so by staging meetings for all members of staff to announce the vision while others print the statement of the vision on banners, posters and cards.

4. Talk about the vision using personal terms

The “What is in it for me” (WIIFM) factor is not automatically included in the visions. It has to be integrated by you and made personal. Managers can get this done by explaining the future in the form of a narrative.

For instance, managers can say something like “after the achievement of our vision we will have first-class products and services and our clients will love us. Our competition will want to copy us. Prospective employees will line up to work for us. Investors will scramble for shares in our company. You will become proud of the work you do and the people for whom you do it.” 

Creating real balance

People get a sense of real purpose from a vibrant and strong vision. The full imaginative and analytical engagement of the leader is demanded due to the fact that crafting a vision is serious business. The vision crafting process may seem rigid to some people but it is actually a matter of good discipline. While people think of the vision and articulate it, they work towards giving it more flesh and transforming it into a reality.

Why leave your future to chance?

If you are serious about building your wealth then get started now by contacting us to provide you with an evaluation of your business. The evaluation will give you a good indication of the market worth of your business and identify the specific actions you need to take to sell or transition your business. Even if you’re not planning to sell, now or in the future, being prepared to transition your ownership is one of the most important things you can do as a business owner.

We are here to help

To find out how to create the ideal exit strategy designed to meet your personal needs choose one of the following easy options:

1. Complete one of the free online self assessments on our website
2. Register for your own complimentary “Time to REFIRE” workshop
3. Download the free e-book: “Exit and Succession”
4. Or simply call us on 03 8794 7777 or send us an email!

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