Building Business Integrity With Vision
A strong vision helps ensure that you and your business behave consistently in a way that is aligned to your identity, thus building your business integrity
The way we are seen by others, whether at work or personal life, is a product of who we are. To other people they see the way we behave, the decisions we make and the actions we take but these are just the tip of who we are. Like an iceberg 90% of us is hidden from view, the skills we have acquired, our belief systems and the values that define our behaviour all combine to form our identity.
Paul McGee in his book SUMO talks about the Beach Ball. If you and I stand with a giant (like 3 meters tall) beach ball directly between us I will see the red, green and brown colours, you on the other hand will see purple, yellow and blue colours. We are both looking at the same beach ball but are seeing it totally differently. His point is very simple, we will have a different angle or perception of things!
Dean Burnett in the Idiot Brain (one of my recent favourite reads!) explains how human brains don’t record the detail of an event in the way a video does, but more an approximation of the event. When we recall an experience, our brain fills in the gaps, which to make matters worse it then remembers as fact!
It is hardly surprising that our perception of our behaviours may not be seen in the same way by others! This is why having a strong vision of who you want to be, and how you are going to achieve it is so important.
We, humans, are masters at rationalising our own actions, so they align with how we view our identity! Presenting the facts as we see them in a way that makes us look better. Having a strong Vision helps negate this to ensure you live up to your principles both in your personal life and business.
How we think is shaped by where we work and live
Our Environment has a big influence on us, where we live and who we mix with. Culture varies across our lives, all mixing to shape our beliefs, values and skills driving our behaviours and decision making.
Different countries have different cultural norms. In some countries doing favours for people you are doing business with is considered normal business practice. If you have ever done business in Southern Europe you will be aware that you will spend longer drinking coffee and chatting than you do doing business, in the UK we somehow feel talking to people in work time is wrong!
Within UK businesses some companies expect their employees to always be at work or available, start early, finish late, always take phone calls and respond to emails. Others actively encourage their staff to only work their contracted hours, flex around their family and make sure they have other interests outside work.
Start by deciding how you want others to see you
How your business is seen, how you behave collectively, will influence who wants to do business with you. As the business leader, you will have a strong sense of the type of business you want, which in turn will shape the way your team behave and who you employ. This is part of your Vision for what your business will become. How you achieve that vision is described in your Mission and the Culture you develop.
Your Vision is made up of several things;
- Firstly your Purpose. Why does your business do what it does? Not what it does (e.g. make beautiful furniture) or how (e.g. hand made by skilled craftsmen using ecological materials) but Why (e.g. we love making unique furniture and preserving the old crafts and the environment).
- What are your personal Values and how do you want them to show up in your business? What beliefs do you have, some maybe religious or moral? What skills do you have that impact your values (e.g. a doctor has the skills to improve lives by curing a disease). What is your identity, how do you see yourself?
- What is your big, big dream? What would you love to be able to do? When Elon Musk set up SpaceX he had no idea how he was going to get people to Mars, it was his massive dream and it is looking increasingly likely he is going to do it!
Summarise your vision in an Envisioned Future that describes what the future for your business is going to look like. Think about how that impacts your personal future.
A strong Vision helps ensure that you and your business behave consistently in a way that is aligned to your identity thus building your business integrity
By having a clearly defined vision for your business you can then decide how you are going to achieve it (which is your Mission) and the way you want your employees to behave (which is the Culture). It is absolutely critical that your Vision does not get written, put in the company handbook and printed on the wall over receptions to then be ignored! Your Vision has to be lived by you and your employees every day!
It will show up in the people you employ and whom you do business with!
If you would like to discuss the above further, book a virtual coffee with me here
