If you are here, take a moment to get present and BE. Really, I insist.
Take a breath. Inhale. Exhale.
From a space of stillness, slowing down to find clarity we get aligned and activated. It’s a practice and discipline to come back to time and again. In implementing a system like EOS, the art and science of slowing down to move fast begins with alignment. One of eight questions I ask clients in our vision building sessions together is, “What’s your Core Target?”. This can be a challenging question – I hear rebuttals like, “ten years is too far out”, “our employees don’t care”, “this is a waste of my time, I want to go fast (oh, wait that’s Ricky Bobby). Here’s my promise to you, once you answer this question, it will drive the activities that your business focuses on today, this quarter, this year and beyond.
A company’s Core Target™ is its long-term vision. A big, hairy audacious goal. A spot on the map that provides direction, energy, and excitement 10, 15, 20 years from now. The problem with misalignment is that you’re going to run the business in a completely different way with teammates rowing in different directions so to speak if we don’t chart the course.
We chart the vision course using a simple tool called the Vision Traction Organizer or VTO for short. I ask eight questions to the leadership team and simply don’t move on till we have agreement. It’s an eye-opening exercise that centers your journey.
- What are your Core Values?
- What is your Core Purpose?
- What is your Core Target?
- What is your Marketing Strategy?
- What is your Three-Year Picture?
- What are your 1-Year goals?
- What are this quarter’s rocks?
- What are your long-term issues?
Once we’ve agreed on these answers amongst the leadership team, the course is set. Now we take action and make it come to life. Here’s how:
- Galvanize your vision. lf you’ve lost sight of why you started this business or took ownership in the first place and what made you so passionate about it, reignite your passion and galvanize every person in your business to focus on achieving this big goal, your core target, and great thing are going to happen.
- Socialize your vision. Let’s give them something to talk about (Couldn’t have said it better, Bonnie). Sharing your vision with as many people as possible creates momentum and commitment to execution. Study after study shows that when you socialize the things that are most important to you, the universe aligns in a really amazing way and it just makes it more likely that it’s going to happen.
- Visit your vision often. Think about your vision daily and create a practice of taking Clarity Breaks™ to maintain your confidence as a leader to simplify and smooth the runway for your vision to take flight. Revisit your VTO every quarter to ensure your leadership team still buys in and wants the same thing you do.
When you achieve your vision, and milestones along the way, I have one passionate plea. Enjoy the journey and celebrate the wins with the people that helped you get there.