How Can a Visioning Strategy Assist You in an Economic Recovery?

By BNI & Referral Institute - Apr 10 , 2009

By Warren B. Rutherford

I have found in my executive coaching practice that my clients benefit greatly from the use of a visioning strategy. Recently I wrote about several strategies that writers and publishers could use to participate in an economic recovery. Writers and publishers can use this strategy to increase growth and profitability, and to improve the attitude and outlook of those whom they service.

When I work with my business consulting and executive coaching clients, I find owners have either lost sight of their business vision or have not established one (or at least one that they could actually visualize). One client had a vision that attempted to define growth through a variety of challenge-based perspectives. When we looked at it, we asked a series of questions, and, after asking them, found we did not have good answers.

Some of the questions included the following:

1. What are you seeking to achieve—a sales goal?
2. What are you going to sell to achieve that sales goal?
3. What is the time frame in which your vision will be operating?
4. What market are we going to operate in?
5. Who is the target market we are seeking to influence?
6. What resources will you need in place—human and financial—to achieve it?
7. Is there an opportunity for you to develop a new product or service?
8. Is there a need or an opportunity to modify your target market?
9. When was the last time you looked at your exit strategy?
10. How can you set that longer term vision for growth now?

As their business advisor and executive coach I encouraged the senior managers of this client to look beyond the current economic concerns. If anything, they now understood that they held the recovery of their publishing business in their own hands, and they worried less. They began to have more confidence in themselves, and, by extension, their employees, and the success of their business. So they started to go back and address each question more objectively with success in mind.

What did they do? By addressing the first five criteria, they set a 3 to 5 year sales goal, providing specific products and services in a national market to double-income families residing in metropolitan areas. With some additional executive coaching and facilitation, they next determined the specific resources needed, identified new products and services that they could offer their customers, and identified that their target market should be more discreetly identified based on product-purchasing data.

We are now working on a longer term vision that incorporates the owner’s exit strategy. So I have a question for you – When was the last time you looked at your 3 to 5 year game plan for your publishing or writing business? It can help you in the economic recovery!

Warren J. Rutherford, President, Rutherford Advisors, Inc. is an Accredited Associate, Institute for Independent Business International, a CMT Accredited Master Mentor, has certifications as a Behavioral Coach, an Analyst in Axiology, and a One Page Business Plan Consultant, and is a BNI Assistant Director in the SE Mass/RI Region. He is an executive coach and business advisor to small and medium sized business, and performs market research for businesses. He can be reached at Warren@RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com or at www.RutherfordBusinessAdvisor.com