Realizing Your Vision |
| Stokes Adams, MBA |
|
“Vision without action is a daydream Action without vision is a nightmare.”
— Japanese Proverb |
| I ran across this quote last week and wanted to share as it really captures how vision and action work
together to manifest dreams. |
| Last month, we talked about the importance of having a vision for your practice. Your vision captures
where you want to go. It represents your hopes and dreams for your business. |
| I hope you have taken some time to do some thinking about your vision. Your vision will change as your
practice grows and evolves so it is a living document. But it is always important to have a clear picture of where you’re
going. |
| Once you have your vision, the next step is figuring out how to get there. That’s where goals and
objectives come in. |
| Goals and objectives are what you plan to do to reach your vision. They are the actions you will take
that will realize your vision. |
| Goals are broad and global in nature. You can think of a goal as being like an umbrella in that each one
will cover a large area. Objectives are the very specific actions you will take to accomplish the goal. |
| We will do the goals first as they are broader statements of what you plan to accomplish. Begin with this
question — What do I need to accomplish this year to realize my vision? Write down 3 — 10 things. As you are writing
those things, keep in mind your strengths and weaknesses. You want to pick goals that will capitalize on your current strengths. |
| Look at your list and pick the one thing that would have the greatest impact and make that your first goal.
Then choose your second goal, again by choosing something that would have a large impact on achieving your vision. Be realistic
as you set your goals, focus on things you feel about confident about being able to get done. |
| You now have a list of 3 — 10 goals. Take your number one goal, this is the one that will have the greatest
impact on realizing your vision. Write that down. Now make a list of 3 — 7 actions that you can complete to achieve that goal,
these are the objectives. Each objective should be very specific about the action to be taken and include a target date for getting it done. |
| Repeat this for each of your goals. |
| Now you have a long list of possible action steps. It is time to narrow that list down to the actual things that
you are making a commitment to do. Making a commitment means you will really do these action steps, no excuses allowed. For each
objective that you are committing to, write down a target date for completion. Be realistic with these dates, make sure you really can
finish the action by that time. |
| Now you have your action plan for the next 12 months. These are the actions you have committed to take that will
lead you to realizing your vision. |
| I suggest that you put your action plan in a prominent place where you will see it every day. Then use the action
plan to map out exactly what you will do each month of this year. |
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