"The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do." Michael Porter
Last month, we delved into how advisors can break free from being stuck in their business - which happens to most advisors at various stages of their career. The first step is recognizing the gaps in your business, and there are 15 crucial areas to consider.
😮 In a first for us, we offered our unique self-evaluation tool to our entire audience, helping advisors to assess their team's performance and identify areas for improvement. Congratulations to those of you who took the first step and filled out The Velocity Indicator.
One of the first critical areas to focus on is your Vision and Strategy. Advisors must understand the big picture of their business before diving into the details. Incorporating strategy and vision is more important than many realize, as a clear plan is essential for any business to flourish.
Advisory businesses with a strong, client-focused vision statement perform better financially. Conversely, a recent Herber & Company study shows that 14% of advisors have no vision, resulting in a yearly decline in growth of 4.3%.
Without a vision, how can you execute your advisory business plan effectively? Your vision should support your ideal life.
Use your imagination and think about the vision of you, your family, and your business and how that vision plays out—like a dream. We say dream because it may feel far from reach, but that doesn’t matter. This becomes your focus. Focus on the imaginative, vivid mental image of what you want your ideal life to look like. Get excited about it and make it fun.
✋ It's perfectly normal for our advisory clients, in different stages of business, to feel uncertain about their vision. Don't fret. You are not alone if you feel this way.
Here are some essential tips for implementing strategy and vision:
✔️ Simplify it: Your vision can be one statement from the heart that guides your strategy. Always return to it to ensure you're on track. It doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to be authentic.
✔️ Write it down: Studies show that writing down goals increases the likelihood of achieving them. Share it with a coach, mentor or colleague to gain momentum and manifest your vision.
✔️ Share the vision: It's vital to share the vision and strategy with all employees in the organization. This ensures everyone is working towards the same objectives.
✔️ Establish clear goals and objectives: Clear goals and objectives are essential for effective implementation. This ensures everyone knows what they're working towards and how their work contributes to the overall vision.
✔️ Assign roles and accountability: Assigning roles to specific individuals or teams ensures everyone knows what they're responsible for and who to turn to for support.
✔️ Monitor progress: Regularly monitoring progress is crucial to ensure implementation stays on track. This helps identify issues or challenges early on and allows for adjustments as needed. Even small steps forward will make a big difference in the long run.
✔️ Acknowledge achievements: Acknowledging achievements along the way keeps employees motivated and engaged in the implementation process.
As we all know the world is constantly changing and this means evolving to stay ahead. Be open to change and don't be afraid of modifying your vision and strategy if needed.
Happy Planning
Inspiration
“It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?” - Henry David Thoreau