Before you can define your vision for the future you need to truly understand the reality of where you are now. To get clarity on that it is important to write down the strengths and weaknesses of the business.
Let’s start with the strengths. There are five areas to examine that will help you identify these strengths:
1. Competitive Advantage
What is it that makes your business or your products/services unique? Here you need to be examining your people, your brand, the financial strength of the company, any intellectual properties you may hold along with all the physical advantages of product quality, location and stock holding.
2. Track Record
What, in the past, has caused the success of the business? How has the market changed? Have there been any new staff join that have ‘made a difference’? How relevant have all these factors been in the success of the business?
3. Reputation
What do your employees and customers think about you? How do they perceive your company and the value it brings to the table? Don’t forget, if your staff don’t believe in your company there is no way on this planet that your customers will.
4. Values & Beliefs
It is vitally important that your company’s values and beliefs are out there for all to see and understand. After all, it is these values and beliefs that drive your business and are responsible for your long-term success.
5. Opportunities
Considering what paths are open to the business going forward is vitally important. There are always cross-roads and forks in the road and you need to know in advance which route to take or you could end up in a cul-de-sac.
What isn’t working?
Understanding the negative factors in your business is critical for future success. There are four areas to examine here:
1. Customer Satisfaction
What are your customers’ most common gripes? Which complaints keep appearing time after time? It’s tough to look at complaints, none of us likes to think about these negatives, but they offer us a fantastic insight into what needs to be done in the business to become a great company.
2. Employee Satisfaction
If your team isn’t happy, that discontent is going to rub off on your customers. Employees want to be proud of the company they work for; they want to be able to hold their heads up high when someone asks them, “Who do you work for?” It is important to know why your staff are unhappy and there’s one thing that’s almost certain, it won’t only be about money.
3. Competitors’ Beliefs
Let’s face it, your competitors want to see you crash and burn. There’s no malice there, it’s just a dog eat dog world and they don’t fancy being eaten, which is exactly how it should be. That’s what makes us improve. So, your competitors are always looking for your weaknesses so they can exploit them for their benefit. It’s your job, therefore, to look at your business with competitors’ eyes to see where the chinks in your armour are and address them before someone else does.
4. Threats
It’s hard to know what is around the corner, but just because it’s hard doesn’t mean you should not at least make best guesses. A bit of market crystal ball gazing will at least get you thinking about the possibilities. Most likely you will be wrong more often than not, but every now and then you’ll see something coming before the pack and it will pay huge dividends.
Examining your strengths and weaknesses honestly enables you to see opportunities and adjust your vision for the business going forward. Once you gain clarity about the vision for the business and its current position, you can focus on the action needed to take you from where you are now to where you want to be.