How to create a Visionary Business

How to create a Visionary business?

I talk a lot about being a visionary and creating visionary organisations. So, in this article I want to articulate what I mean by that and to give you some practical tips and advice on how to create this – no matter if you are a start-up, a bigger entrepreneurial organisation or you are a leader in a more traditional organisation. ?

I’m passionate about Inspiring change in businesses so that we can revolutionize how we live and work. I believe that if we can start to operate differently in businesses and organizations, we can create massive change in the world.??

Fundamentally a visionary business is business that has a vision, has a purpose in the world, is here to create change on the planet.?

Think of a company like Apple that created a whole new market that didn't exist at all and came from a place of vision and innovation. Or Richard Branson as an entrepreneur who has a strong vision and brand in Virgin. He again has a vision for making things better in the world, disrupting things, doing new things, as all visionary organizations do. They change something in the world, and they do it from a place of vision and mission and passion.?

So how is this different to what organisations have been in the past???

I'm going to generalize here because I work with organizations all the way along this spectrum from what I would say are purely visually organizations to organizations that come more through that traditional route so I am talking here about the two extremes so that you can see the change that is happening.??

The Visionary organization is led by vision. It's led by impact. It's led by what it can create in the world, and that creates an extraordinary energy and passion and momentum for the business as a whole and for the people within it.??

It is also strongly led by human connection. People are magnetised to it, feel strongly about it, and want to bring their best to it. There is an ‘all in’ quality - there’s no hiding in professionalism or having to be a certain way to fit in. It's really about how I connect, how I be with this organization, how I bring all of myself to it.??

There is a lot of creativity and innovation, autonomy and freedom. In start-ups we are literally starting from scratch, so it naturally brings that innovation, freedom, and creativity. Often, Founders and their early teams don't know exactly what they are doing and if they tried to figure it all out, it would slow them down. There is a sense of agility in a new organization.??

A visionary organization is agile. It takes risks, it does things that potentially big organizations would never do because they think they have got too much to lose.?

A visionary organisation is very much about the collective and co-creation. Because everything is new, because of the passion and enthusiasm, there is a sense that we are all in it together and all ideas are welcome!?

Human connection, creativity, and innovation, learning as you go, agility, being able to take risks, a connection to the big vision and this collective co-creation. Doesn’t that sound and feel like an amazing place to work???

The more traditional organisation is the opposite of everything I have just described.??

The more traditional organizations in the past have been built on control and hierarchy, systems and processes and being ‘professional, fitting in, not rocking the boat too much.?

They often lose a connection to vision along the way. And so, it becomes about actions and strategy and filling in the documents and going to meetings rather than a real connection to vision.?

And because of all of that, it becomes risk averse. People don't take risks and you end up with lots of organizations where people are just doing their jobs. They come in and they do their jobs, and you pay them, and they go home. And that breaks my heart a little bit because I look at that and think how much potential is sitting in this organization that you are not tapping into??

How much do people want to give more in here? If you connected them, if you really felt into what they can bring and what is in their heart and soul what are they capable of? What’s the potential??

So where are you and your business on this Visionary path???

I ask because this is the future of organizations and that the organizations that stay with their head in the sand, in the old way are not going to be the ones that thrive.?

Coming out of Covid, people want to have meaning, purpose in what they do. They want to feel that they want to go into the office because I love being in there.?

• Are you creating that for your people???
• Do you even feel that for yourself????

So how do you create this visionary organization???

No matter where you are on this journey – a fast growing entrepreneurial company that is starting to build and employ people or you are a big organization, the skills you need and the way of being that you need is not dissimilar. And yet most organisations don’t have those skills yet!?

This led me to create my own methodology The Visionary Way which comes out of my past 17 years or so working with visionary founders and their organisations and the big guys too!??

Over time, I started to notice patterns and themes. I could see where visionary founders and their businesses do well and where they struggle and where their challenges are so that created a model that you can follow so that if you're thinking, I do want to create this organization, but how the hell do I do it??

The Visionary Way is the missing skillset in business. It's bringing about the agility, connection, creativity and innovation that I’ve been speaking about as the hallmarks of a visionary business. It's also, importantly, about clearing the things that are in our way individually and collectively. It's about conscious creation in every moment. So, we're always doing things that add value and drive the vision forward. And it's about co-creation and how we bring that potential out in everybody that we work.??

The first step is connection?

Every amazing business is built on connection. This is the most intangible part of this model and this process and yet underpins everything else. ?

Connection really runs through everything. It is the foundation of a successful life and business because it is built on a fundamental human need.??

We all have a desire for deep connection - for that sense of connection to self, to who I am, what I'm here to do in the world. We also want to feel a connection to others - to have that deep connection and to really feel like I'm accepted and seen and acknowledged and recognized who I am. And lastly a connection to a bigger potential that is at play in my life and work.??

And when we create that sense of connection to the vision in a business, that is when the magic starts to happen.??

So, think about how connected you and your people and your business are. Do people feel safe to bring their whole selves to work? Do you have the trust and psychological safety? Are they passionate about the vision and ethos of the business? And are they clear about their role to play in delivering it???

If you want to find out more about creating a Visionary Business, you can listen to the full podcast episode here: https://pod.fo/e/163395?

You can also hear more about The Visionary Way methodology here: https://pod.fo/e/121a7d?

If you are visionary, founder or leader and want to transform your business, please do get in touch at [email protected].??