For thirty plus years I have worked with thousands of businesses. Only a handful of them these were businesses that made money and the business owners were happy. The vast majority of businesses were just scraping by. But, what is even more surprising is that the most of the financially successful business owners were unhappy with their business. The business consumed their life and money became the main goal and measurement of success.
Now, these “successful” business owners almost always had a strategic plan, mission statements and goals. That was how they got this big. But, they constantly were complaining about their customers’ demands. Oh, and don’t get them started on how impossible it was to get good employees! They will bore you to tears with stories of all the disappointing employees they have had hired and fired over the years.
Simply put – these “successful” business owners are very unhappy with the business they have created!
And, that is the key – every business owner created the business they now have. Both the things that are working and all those that aren’t, were happening because the business owner allowed them to happen. Until they accept that – nothing changes.
So what do the handful of business owners that are financially successful do to create an exciting place that they and their employees look forward to working in have in common? And don’t forget their customers are loyal because of the great service and atmosphere. They understood the importance of a creating a business that serves others – not themselves! The successful business owner understands that the only way to be successful is to create a company that serves someone else’s needs and desires more effectively than anyone else in the market is currently doing.
Very few business books are written on this. The best I have found is Awakening the Entrepreneur Within by Michael E. Gerber (the Author of the E-Myth Revisited).This book goes over these key points and how entrepreneurs can benefit from having powerful dream!
Everyone wants to make a difference in the world. We don’t just want to make money. Yes, we need money to pay the bills, but in an ideal world money would not dominant. At the end the day, what we and our employees really want is to make a difference. Actually, let me restate that – everyone wants a job where they can make a massive difference in the world!
From your dream you create your vision. Some call it a mission statement. Simply put, it’s what you see as your purpose for both you personally and the business. A company without a vision is a company that has no purpose – no soul! The vision must support your dream and quickly communicate your dream.
From this vision you must articulate your purpose. From this purpose you finally articulate the company’s mission.
As you can see it all starts with a dream. And, the more the dream is how you can serve your customers – the more successful the company will be! That is why this is the first step in the Human Resource area, strategic planning or even in creating your marketing plan. How can you succeed if you don’t know what your mission is? And, if the mission is not derived from a dream of how to serve others how will you continue to persist through the struggles that will invariably arise? How can you sell your customers if it is not something that is in their best interests? How can you motivate your employees if they are working only for a paycheck and not to serve your customer?