by Daniel Murphy
Vision building is an art form. It’s a pivotal skill that all great leaders must possess. Without it, many leaders often turn to trying to motivate others through fear. Fear of loss, fear of repercussions, fear of what if’s, fear of humiliation. Fear is a weak and lazy method of motivation. Learn to do it better.
A Business Leader who knows how to craft an inspiring vision for their company and followers, and who truly lives their own powerful vision statement will find the world within their grasp.
If you can inspire, you will acquire. I have had the blessing of being around several great leaders while studying even more of them whom I one day hope to meet. One of the characteristics that I have seen frequently in these leaders and business owners is their ability to inspire their followers to achieve increasingly greater things for themselves and their companies every day.
People need so much more than just money in this world. So many are insecure about what tomorrow may bring, some may be craving genuine connection with others, others may have a need to care for their own, or a desire to help others in their past. There is a myriad of reasons people do what they do. But what these great leaders frequently demonstrate in their arsenal of leadership qualities is an ability to identify those underlying needs in anyone who they inspire to follow them. That is where a Vision Builder comes in.
Vision and Vision Statement: How do you build it for your business?
Well, the process is two-fold. First, you must be able to envision it yourself. Put yourself in the future, think of all aspects of the life vision you seek to achieve. A book that beautifully describes how to build an excellent business vision and mission is called Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold. You can find it here on Amazon. Before you start, you must be willing to dream. Don’t worry so much about the details of “how” at this stage. Your entire focus must be on the “what” and the “why” for your business. Define the look and feel of what you aim to build in as much detail as possible.
Vision Building Ideas to Consider:
- Business Culture: What will the company purpose be? How will your people interact with each other? How will they interact with the world outside of your business? What will the values, ideals, and standards be? How will you lead by example? What will people who first step into your business space feel about your company? What will contractors, vendors, clients, prospects, or employee family members experience about your company culture?
- Employees: Who will you need to bring on board to achieve your vision? What will those people be like? How will your people interact with each other and the world outside of your business? What will they probably most enjoy about your business?
- Business Finance: How much capital will your business need to achieve its long-term vision? What will its financial standing be? What will the company spend its money on?
- Marketing Strategy: What will your brand identity look like? Who will relate to your business’s mission and vision? What will people feel when they interact with your business? What kind of clients will your business attract? Where will they find out about your business? What will they expect from working with your business? What will your brand’s voice be like?
- Social Outreach: How will your business make the world a better place? How will people outside of your business perceive your business? What values will your business represent with its social outreach?
The next step is to be able to communicate it so well and so passionately that the people you share it with grow inspired themselves!
Communicating Your Vision: How Do You Get Your Followers to Buy In?
A Vision without followers is just empty words. How do you make people join your movement? Clearly answer what’s in it for them. If they join your movement, will you fulfill something in their lives where they feel they are lacking? Another excellent book that speaks on the kinds of needs you can fulfill for followers through your vision is called The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime!.
Some of the needs are:
- Make Them Feel Better About Themselves
- Help Them Solve A Problem
- Educate Them
- Make Them Look Better
- Give Them Security
- Raise a Positive Emotion
- Satisfy Appetites
- Make Things Easier
While in the book the author emphasizes these needs as things your business can provide for customers, it also very much applies to people who choose to follow you and do business with your company. In communicating your Company Vision or Life’s Vision to people, work to tie in how following you in your Vision will ultimately fulfill those needs for them as well.
The better you are at communicating your Vision Statement while inspiring emotion and buy-in from followers, the more likely you are to increase your vision’s impact. In saying that, another essential skill to develop is your ability to communicate effectively and eloquently through your writing and speaking.
How can you improve your ability to communicate?
- Listen to Famous Speeches and Analyze What They Say and How They Say It.
- Practice Your Writing with a Blog or through Social Media Posts. (The author of this article for example, practices his writing and speaking on his instagram page @danielmurphybuilds and his deeper thoughts he saves for my blog!)
- Practice Your Speaking Through A Toastmasters Club, or with Youtube Videos
- Strike Up Conversation With as Many People As You Can
Basically, the more you practice, the better you’ll be! And every time after you practice, take time to reflect on how conversations went. How did the people react to what you said? Did they demonstrate positive or negative emotions in parallel with your message? Were they highly engaged with you, or were they distracted? Did they ask you questions about your message and actively appear interested in learning more? Did they appear happier, or more excited after talking with you? Emotional connection to your message is a powerful indicator of successful comunication.
