Everything rises and falls on leadership. Doesn’t matter which business function you are looking to improve. At the end of the day, it will be successful or fail depending on the people leading.
Before tackling any kind of marketing the first thing you must do is be crystal clear on what it is you want to accomplish, who you are, and why you are doing the things you are doing.
It will be helpful to define what we mean by “vision” to get started. According to Jim Collins, a vision consists of 3 things:
- Core values, and beliefs.
- Purpose statement.
- Mission statement.
Your core values and beliefs, along with your purpose statement and mission statement are the essence of your vision.
The important part is that you have one. More specifically, a vision that is communicated daily among team members.
What are core values and beliefs?
Core values and beliefs can be defined as a system of guiding principles and tenets: A philosophy of business and life. Principals are held individually. An extension of the personal core values and beliefs of the leaders of the organization.
How to develop your values?
- Take a moment to visualize your funeral. You are lying in the coffin. Life is finished. There is nothing more you can do. A person takes the stand to say your obituary speech. What do you want the speech to say? What sorts of stories do you want to be remembered by? What do you want to be known for?
- Based on your speech, write out the values you want people to say you had.
- Take those values and revise them with “We believe…<insert value>.
- Review the “we believe” statements and revise them to fit the company. Are you surprised to see that most of the decisions you made within your company were based on these values you haven’t yet articulated?
What is your purpose statement?
Your purpose statement is the fundamental reason for the organization’s existence. This doesn’t have to be so existential but it needs to be clear. The purpose statement grows out of your core values.
Your purpose statement can be seen as your guiding star. Something that probably won’t ever be attained but always striving for.
A good indicator for you is to ask yourself, “does this statement serve the company for 100 years?” If so, move to the next section. If not, continue to reflect on your core values. Why do these values resonate with you?
McWilliam & Powell’s purpose statement is “To inspire small business owners to live an integrated life.”
What is your mission?
View mission as literally going on a mission. On an adventure. It should be bold, compelling and maybe a little crazy. Jim Collins describes it as your big hairy audacious goal. “BHAG.” You can view missions like the mountain which you need to climb to get to your guiding star. Once completed you will notice another mountain to climb. That will be your next mission.
A mission has a clear finish line and a specific time frame.
Collins proposes four types of missions
- Targeting: Is there a revenue number to reach? An example would be to hit $40,000,000 by December 2024
- Common enemy: Fighting against the competitor, or a problem in the market. An example would be Tesla against Global warming.
- Role model: A company to emulate. An example would be Dell computers acting or on a mission to act like Apple.
- Internal transformation: This is where a company requires a serious pivot. An example would be New York Times pivoting from newsprint to a subscription model.
What is a bold and audacious goal for you? Do you think you can achieve it? What is your mountain to climb for this quarter? Work on a quarter at a time and then gravitate to an annual mission. Some companies have graduated to a 10-year mission. Think Tesla.
