Cody Foster - Seeing Into The Future

You don’t need a crystal ball to create clarity for your team, just answers to some key questions.

As the owner/founder/CEO of your business, there are certain roles you can’t delegate. At the top of that list is providing the vision for your team of what the business is designed to achieve. A compelling?— or vivid — vision can unify the entire team around a common purpose.

Cameron Herold has been a great resource for Advisors Excel on this topic of a Vivid Vision, and I like the way he describes its importance. “Creating a Vivid Vision brings the future into the present, so we can have clarity on what we are building now,” Cameron says. “It is a detailed overview of what my business will look like, feel like and act like three years out. Sharing it with others helps it become reality!”

Cast the Vision

If you haven’t created a Vivid Vision for your company, there is no better time than today. Here are some simple ways to create a vision that can inspire your team to accomplish great things.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

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–Proverbs 29:18

Step One — Dream

First, you have to get away from your office and spend some time dreaming. Find a great place to get away that will inspire you. Dream about what your business will look like into the future. Ask yourself:

• What’s important to you??
• Who are you doing life with??
• How will you be growing and serving your clients??
• What will your office look like??
• What will your team look like??

This is your opportunity to dream.

Step Two — Decide

After you’ve taken some time to dream, now it’s time to start pulling those dreams together into your vision. I won’t spend a lot of time on this. Instead, I’d encourage you to buy Cameron’s book “Vivid Vision,” where he walks you through an easy way to do exactly this. But it’s important to clearly articulate your vision so it’s easy to share.?

Dave and I worked on this a few years ago and came away with the vision to create an organization that could have a life-changing impact on the three communities we serve: all of you, our team at Advisors Excel and our local Topeka community. That vision has become a driving force in everything we do, constantly pushing us to ask ourselves: Will this have a life-changing impact on one of those three communities? And if not, let’s not do it.?

Step Three — Share

When you have built your vision, the next key is to talk about it constantly. Dave and I repeat our vision over and over again. Many of you have heard us mention it at events. We share it at least half a dozen times a year with our team, and we try to constantly reinforce this vision when sharing the impact we are having on any of these three communities we serve.?

If we have a big impact on one of you, we make sure we share that with our team. When we do something that impacts the life of one of our team members, we remind our team that’s the vision. When we do something to impact our community, we make sure we talk about how this helps us achieve the vision.

Reinforce with Repetition

Too many people go through the process, put their vision in a box and only revisit it once in a great while. I want to encourage you to make your vision a big part of your everyday life.?

As a leader, one of the most important things we can do is consistently communicate the same message repeatedly. Author Patrick Lencioni said we should share our vision so much it becomes boring — and then share it some more.?

If you want your team to be inspired, and help you accomplish great things, it starts with building and communicating a compelling vision for the future. If you haven’t done so yet, there’s never been a better time than today!