Creating a 3-Year Picture™

In today’s fast paced world, it’s important for business owners and leadership teams to always be a few steps ahead of the game. Even though a great deal can change in a business over three years, business coaches recommend taking the time to create a vivid picture of what your business will look like in three years. Why? A 3-Year Picture helps leadership teams accomplish the following:

• Each team member will see where your business is going and decide if they want to be a part of that scenario
• It will be easier to outline your goals in the one-year planning process
• By having a clear picture in mind of what you want to achieve, the probability of that picture becoming reality is greatly increased.

The time frame can actually be anything from two to seven years, but most EOS clients choose 3 years. Putting together a 3-Year Picture is best done with your entire leadership team and a business coach. Your leadership team should first predict the businesses revenue and profit in the third year, define any other important measurables you want to achieve, which gives everyone an idea of the scope and size of your future business. Once this is completed, a list of bullet points should be compiled, offering a snapshot of what your business will look like in three years. Business coaches recommend considering things such as number and quality of people, added resources, office environment and size, operational efficiencies, systemization, technology needs, product mix, and client mix.

Once your list has been compiled into 10 to 20 succinct bullet points, finalize your 3-Year Picture and ensure that everyone on your leadership team believes it and ultimately wants it for the business. To conclude, it can often be helpful to have members of your leadership team close their eyes as one person reads the 3-Year Picture out loud, in order for everyone to really hear and understand it. Having everyone on the same page and working toward common outcomes that are clearly understood, offers a clear plan for success.