Strategic Planning Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Establishing an Owner's Vision

Business owners have the unique responsibility of determining the strategic direction of an organization based on their personal endgame — the final result they want out of their business. An endgame can be anything from continual cash flow, to a business sale, to more time off, to changing the world. Basically, the endgame is the business owner's personal vision.

Because your personal life and your business life are intertwined, you should have a BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goal; see Chapter 6)that runs in tandem with your corporate vision statement. This statement is called the owner's vision statement and isn't necessarily shared with your employees but is created specifically to develop a single focus point for all equity shareholders. In the next sections, I walk you through developing your owner's vision statement, or endgame, and figuring out how to communicate that vision to your employees.

Knowing your true endgame

The great thing about being a business owner is you fully command the ability to lead a group of people to accomplish your dream or vision. More than likely, you started your business because you have a deep passion for doing something better or differently than everyone else. Harnessing and communicating that passion can be two of the most powerful things in business, driving success beyond what you may think possible. Although we all know that it takes more than passion to have a successful business, often we lose sight of what ...