Business growth and expansion doesn’t come from doing the same thing you’ve been doing but with more effort. Real growth and expansion come from creativity. We find this creativity in our desires, passions, dreams, and hopes but that’s not what we’re focused on while running our day to day businesses. Most of us had a vision for our business when it started. Is that vision still the same? Are we still intensely focused on getting the business there, or has it become a distant memory? We know it’s there, but are we really too busy paying attention to the procedural details of the business?
So, if you want to grow and expand your business in 2021 give yourself a new title. Not an additional title, a new title. You’re about to become the new Chief Visionary Officer. I always thought the Chief Operating Officer was supposed to be paying attention to the operations anyway. One of the key findings from researching successful businesses is that they had leaders that were intensely motivated by the clarity of their purpose and vision.
Using that clarity, they developed plans, monitored, and assessed results, and then course corrected when necessary all the time building their businesses. Their focus was intense on the vision, everything else was just a means to attain it. While out of necessity they reviewed past results their focus was still on how those results accelerated or detracted from them achieving the vision. They knew that if the got trapped in the review of past results it would be akin to driving a car while looking in the rear view mirror. That doesn’t sound like a particularly good way to drive a car or run a business with a focus on growth.
So, how do we capitalize on a strong focus on our vision? Here are some key steps for becoming a Chief Visionary Officer responsible for growing and expanding the business.
1. Become a Lifelong Learner – Admitting that in order to grow you need to be creative. In order to be creative you need to consider new approaches to existing, and typically common, problems. Striving to learn from all available sources will provide a broad perspective that serves your creativity well.
2. Identify a Variety of Information Sources – If you always use the same sources to gain information used in growth and expansion strategies, you’ll likely always come up with solutions that are just minor adjustments to existing strategies. New sources bring new perspectives and new perspectives bring new ideas on how to grow and expand.
3. Leverage a Peer Group – A diverse peer group provides a variety of perspectives and as peers will provide direct and unblemished feedback that provides for a greater level of success with your strategies. When working with a peer group, never position yourself as the smartest person in the room. If you do, you’ll dismiss some great input and feedback.
4. Keep an Open Mind – When discussing potential strategies allow yourself to be vulnerable, ask questions, then ask some more questions. By being intensely curious about growth and expansion strategies you’ll learn more than you ever imagined from others.
5. Execute, Execute, Execute! – Consistently practice these 4 key steps as a Chief Visionary Officer and you’ll be amazed at how fast you can develop, implement, and capitalize on growth and expansion initiatives.
One of the best methods for ensuring that you stay focused on the vision and practice these steps is to participate in a Peer Group Roundtable. These roundtables provide an environment based upon these four keys. A well structured roundtable is led by an effective facilitator that works with each member to gain clarity on their vision, stay engaged in these 4 keys, and being accountable to themselves and each other member.
If you want to ensure your business grows and expands in 2021, join a Peer Group Roundtable. It’ll be well worth the investment.
Strategic Orientation offers memberships in our Navigational Roundtables that bring the peer group advantages discussed above as well as several Business Assessments, One on One Coaching, and annual Strategic Planning membership benefits. By joining now for your 2021 membership, you get the benefit of a discounted membership rate and potentially an additional tax deduction for 2020!
Don’t pass up this great opportunity to reduce your 2020 taxes and accelerate your 2021 profits and growth! To learn more, check out the program at https://StrategicOrientation.com/events and contact me to apply for membership at Richard@StrategicOrientation.com.
For more key tips on business success check out my other blogs and connect with me at https://www.StrategicOrientation.com/Blog and Linked In.
