Vision Building Exercise

Purpose of this exercise

A clear, shared vision for the business is essential.  It informs strategic decision-making, underpins performance of the management team and is the basis of effective communication to employees and staff.

This exercise helps you and your colleagues describe your vision for the business in a semi-standardised way.  This will allow you to compare different perspectives as a team and so come to a common vision.

Instructions

Appoint someone to keep track of time.

Read the guidelines below then write down your vision for the business.  Check back against the guidelines to see that you have incorporated them as far as possible.  Read it out to the rest of the team and discuss.

Guidelines - what makes a good Vision Statement?

-          It must be motivating for you.  It must be something that you think is worth achieving and which matches your values and beliefs

-          It should describe a particular point in time.  This might be when you plan to exit or when you plan to achieve “success” as you see it.  It should have a date

-          It should describe what the business will be in concrete terms – how large, what it will be known for, what it will be able to do

-          It should have a personal goal that describes how you will be spending your life.  This might include your working life or your personal life or the options you would have by then

-          It should have some concrete financial dimension – usually sale value, turnover or profit

Discussion
Appoint someone to take notes on a whiteboard or flipchart.

As each person’s vision is explained, look for areas of commonality and difference.  Are the differences fundamental or simply differences of degree?  Where are people’s values appearing?

Coalesce the discussion into bullet points – don’t worry about the detailed wording now.  Check these bullet points against the guidance above.  They will form the skeleton of your Vision Statement

Can your SME develop a brand?

What is a brand?

-          It is the shared reaction that it evokes in the people that matter to your business – customers, prospects, employees, suppliers

o   It is what they say about you when you aren’t there

o   It is the way they have come to expect you to behave

o   It is their assessment of your values and beliefs

o   It is the feelings they associate with their interaction with you

o   It is the stories they tell about you

-          It is the things you do to support the reaction

o   The kind of people you employ and the way they behave

o   The kind of customers you target and why

o   The values and beliefs that you run your company by

o   The processes you use and how well they deliver the kind of product or service your brand promises

o   Your style – of communications, dress, language and premises

-          It is the collection of artefacts that represent your business and trigger the reaction

o   Logos

o   Website

o   Company or product names

What are the benefits of having a brand?

-          You will be at the top of their list (or the front of their mind) when a prospect thinks about buying what you sell

-          It reduces perceived risk in the mind of the prospect – “No-one ever got fired for buying from IBM.”

-          It multiplies your marketing  – people find it easier to relate, and relate to, stories about feelings and a strong brand is shorthand for shared feelings about a company

-          It makes you more referable if you have a widely-accepted positive reputation – there is less risk in recommending you

How can an SME develop a brand?

-          As with all marketing, a brand is only of any use if you know what your target market and value proposition are

-          You cannot buy a brand – you have to live it and demonstrate it first so that your customers and employees develop the brand through what they say and do

-          It’s about coherence and congruence – be clear on who you serve, why and how; be clear about the values and beliefs that are important to you, your staff and your customers

-          Make sure that this comes through in everything you say and do, from marketing to invoicing, from the website to the way customer services answer the phone

-          Ask the people who matter (employees, customers, prospects, suppliers) why they chose you and what they think about your company.  This is your brand.

Feeling the management strain?

As your business grows it doesn't just get bigger. It gets more complicated. More staff, Bigger, more demanding customers. More rules. Trying to manage through other people. Delegation.
You'd go mad trying to run it the way you used to run a small business - or give yourself a heart-attack. And you'd fail, and go back to being small.

There is an alternative. Learn how to manage a bigger business at this business advice seminar.

Or take a look at our business advice website.

Looking for investment?

Are you looking for a bank loan or business angel to fund your business growth plans?
Do you understand the kind of things they look for in a company before they will invest?

Do you know what government finance is (still) available and how you qualify?

These are big issues. Succeed or fail issues. Don't leave it to chance - talk to us.

As a first step, get yourself on this business advice seminar or take a look at our business advice website.

Clear business direction?

Clear direction - a vision, mission and strategic objectives - is essential for any successful business. Business owners ned to know:
· The importance of a motivating and guiding vision for any business and how to construct one
· Ways to turn your Vision into a compelling Mission for your staff and customers
· How to identify and set concrete Objectives that will keep you on track towards your goal whatever happens
· Why growth is not optional - and why unplanned growth will damage your business – and why growth itself brings challenges
· What successful business owners spend their time doing – and not doing

If you'd like to learn how to do this then this seminar is a must: The Journey to Success

More information on my website: http://www.nickbettes.co.uk/

8 ways to your unique proposition

Price

-          This can be low price if you have a unique process or advantage that will always keep your costs below the competition’s.  If not then competing solely on price is suicide

-          This could be high price if you have a luxury product which is in demand by people who want to be seen as able to afford exclusivity 

Speed

-          This can be fast (for example food or deliveries) as long as you have a process which always delivers faster than anyone else

-          This could be slow (for example fine dining or whisky) as long as the wait is seen as part of the pay-off for the buyer.

Newness

-          In the technology or gadget market some people buy things simply because they are new.  Some businesses compete on performance (for example computers or phones) so they need innovation from their suppliers

-          Oldness can also be a selling point – think antiques, or retro, or reliability

Convenience

-          Petrol stations can charge more for essential items than supermarkets because they are next to the road and have parking.  Convenience could also mean opening hours or home delivery or anything else that makes it easier for the customer

-          Being a one-stop shop

Range

-          Both breadth of range and numbers stocked can be a powerful USP.  If a customer is pushed for time or in a fix they look for the place that always has what they need on the shelf.

Expertise or specialism

-          The ultimate is to be seen as a specialist in a field of one.  This is really what defining a niche is about; making yourself a specialist.

Quality and Service

-          Never the word “quality” or “service” but a deep understanding of what attributes represent quality and service in your market and a proposition which not only delivers on these but uses these terms to resonate with the customer. 

Reliability

-          This is about understanding your prospects deepest fears about your product and addressing them through a unique guarantee, your longevity or testimonials

Find out how to get more great business tips here

Find out more about increasing the value of your business here

Selling your business?

Preparing in the right way could get you 2-3 times as much for your business. 
Getting your company fit for sale could mean the difference between getting nothing and getting a great multiple.  Getting your company fit for sale will make it easier and more rewarding to run while you still own it.

It's what you as a business owner should spend your time doing.

Make a start. Come to this business advice seminar.

How to build a great team

As a business leader it is your role to get the most from your staff.  You must become the team coach, not the centre-forward.  You must create the conditions for your team to succeed whilst striving to remove any dependency on your own efforts or technical knowledge.  Here are some guidelines for creating a successful team.

-          Define a shared, clear, worthwhile purpose for the team – and continue to reinforce this

o   Define clear boundaries for the team and empower every member to question things within those boundaries (not only in their own area of responsibility)

o   Define the desired outcomes.  Make these challenging but not demoralisingly difficult

o   Make sure there is regular, objective, actionable feedback on team performance

o    Make improved team functioning, or dynamics, one of the desired outcomes

-          Create wholesome team dynamics*

o   The foundation for any high-performing team is trust amongst the members.  People must feel able to be open about fears and failings and to give and receive honest feedback

o   Trust enables constructive conflict, which is necessary to surface and explore options and arrive at optimum decisions

o   Constructive conflict, where everyone has had their opinions heard and debated, allows buy-in from all members to the agreed team goals and decisions and their part in delivering them

o   Because individuals have bought in to the team goals and decisions, individuals are prepared to be held responsible for delivering their elements of the plan and to hold fellow team-members accountable in turn

o   Shared goals and mutual accountability means that the team is focused on results

-          Build in diversity amongst the members

o   Don’t allow superstars to rule the roost.  Everyone, including them, puts the team first.  If your star performers can’t understand and deliver this then drop them from the team

o   Make sure everyone recognises their own strengths and weaknesses and those of their colleagues.  Make sure they understand that great teams are made up of individuals with complementary abilities

o   Respect amongst members starts with individuals having self-respect.  Make sure everyone understands how their contribution is valued and inculcate a sense of belonging and feeling of achievement in all team members

-          Create pride within the team

o   Look for opportunities to build the team’s respect and reputation in the wider organisation and beyond

o   Create opportunities to build team coherence beyond the task – perhaps through  social bonds

o   Acknowledge and reward their achievements

*Based on  “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, Patrick Lencioni

Business modelling for SMEs

Is there a model for improving SME performance?  Certainly there are lots of business models out there beloved of management consultants and business advisors.  The former tend to use models developed by academics for the corporate world which can be thought of as "tools for thought"; the latter tend to use models developed primarily as sales tools:  "If we could show you how to increase your turnover by 10%, your margin by 10%..." and so forth.

Both can be useful for an SME owner but both have drawbacks.  Corporate models often assume a complexity in the organisation and market, an intellectual curiosity in the client and a depth of implementation resource that do not exist.  The less sophisticated tools on the other hand are often based on a few financial ratios that are assumed to be new to the business owner and which provide only a limited platform for real long-term improvement of the business.

What is needed to augment these tools is something that bridges the gap.  A tool rooted in the daily realities of the SME owner that also makes bigger canvases accessible.  A tool which can deliver simple, practical, high-return changes quickly but also provide a platform for continuing dialogue and development.  A tool which is supported by the advisor but controlled by the business owner and applied as appropriate to their starting point and progress.

If you'd like to know more about this tool and how we use it to help SME owners then take a look at our website.