2023 has officially kicked off with many business owners, I am sure, setting some pretty incredible New Year resolutions for themselves and big, scary, audacious goals for their businesses too. 

But as the year progresses, it often becomes harder and harder to remain focused on these goals. You become distracted, demotivated, and ladened with day-to-day duties. You forget why you made those resolutions in the first place – you lose focus. 

When the challenge of focus comes up in the coaching context, I like to use this little analogy. 

I start by asking; when did you last visit the optician?

Why? Because……..

  • With clarity of vision, you know what you want to achieve.
  • With clarity of vision, you can see how to achieve it.
  • And with clarity of vision, your focus is much sharper. 

Clarity to see WHAT you want to achieve

 Your vision is all about your preferred future, personally and for your business. It captures the essence of success, is stable over time and is deeply motivating to the organisation at all levels. When defining your vision, consider the purpose, values and goals of your organisation. What will your business look like when it is finished? What is the lifestyle you desire?

It helps to document your vision. How you choose to do this is up to you. Some people are comfortable storing things electronically (maybe in list format), others prefer something more tangible to refer back to again and again as they progress on their growth journey. 

A very useful tool is a vision board, which is simply a visual representation of all you dream of achieving in your life. It’s motivational, inspirational and just the thing to keep you focused on your goals. 

When setting out your vision board, start with your personal goals before looking at business goals. Think about what you really want out of life, and then find several pictures that embody what you aspire to. You can find these in magazines or online; you can even take photos of similar things you see when out and about. Put all those pictures together as a collage, either in printed form or captured on your computer/mobile/tablet, and keep it close to you for easy reference. 

Now you have the clarity of vision to know what you want to achieve. 

Clarity to see HOW to achieve your vision.

 This is the part of the analogy where the optician takes you through a series of questions and tests to help them determine what prescription will keep your vision crystal clear. They follow a step-by-step approach to reach the desired outcome – success in achieving your vision. 

Likewise, as a business owner, you need to have an action plan that will drive you, step by step, towards the end game – success in achieving your vision. 

Things to consider when creating your action plan:

  • Make your goals realistic. It’s tempting to set huge goals in the hopes of fulfilling your vision quicker, but this can work against you in the long term. Sure, have a 1, 2 and 5-year vision, but rather break your growth journey down into bite-sized chunks. Set milestones to reach monthly, quarterly and yearly, and then allocate tasks that will progress you steadily towards those milestones. 
  • Include as much detail as possible. You and your employees should be very clear on what is expected, by when and by whom. 
  • Build in some criteria to test and measure your progress against. Work with your team on KPIs and be proactive about making changes to activities that may not be delivering value and amplifying those that are.
  • Find an accountability partner. It can be tough sticking to your plan, particularly when unexpected setbacks arise, so having someone to keep you accountable for doing what you said you would do is crucial. 

Now to sharpen your focus

Here’s where we consider alternative lenses, so to speak, and discard those that blur our vision. 

Look at the tasks on your to-do list and either delegate, defer or ditch those that take your focus away from the activities that make the most positive impact on your business, the ones that will push you towards your vision more rapidly. Remember, if you are a business owner, you should focus on doing business owner work, not employee work. 

To continue the analogy, it’s time to put your glasses on and keep focused!

Remember,

  • Clarity of vision helps you know what you want to achieve.
  • Clarity of vision helps you see how to achieve it.
  • And clarity of vision sharpens your focus. 

So, when you next feel your focus slipping, ask yourself, when did you last visit the optician?

Martin Baillie is a Business Coach and Growth Specialist at ActionCOACH Bury St Edmunds, committed to working with business owners to create sustainable, viable, profitable entities within the local community.

We find that most business owners are experts in their industry but not in business. Our ActionCOACH business re-education coaching programmes help business owners to understand all aspects of business so they can build a profitable, sustainable business that works without them.

Contact Martin Baillie, ActionCOACH Bury St Edmunds now on Tel: 01284 334099. You can also follow him on LinkedIn , Instagram and Facebook