Your vision answers the question: Where is your business headed, over the next 3-5 years, and what do you want it to look like when you arrive? Each of your business objectives or goals, in essence, are mile markers along the way over the next twelve months to fulfilling your overall business plan vision.
When we speak of alignment, what we are referring to is making sure that each business objective you declare has underneath it the supporting strategies explaining how to carry out those objectives. Each of those strategies must have clearly stated projects listing who specifically is going to do what by when.
Imagine a table. The surface of the table is the vision of the business in your plan. Each leg supports the table top. Each leg has three segments: The goal or objective is the top part of the leg that connects directly to the table top, the strategies are what links the top of the leg to the bottom of the leg, and the tactical action projects make up the bottom of the leg as they are down at the ground level.
You can actually write out your operational business plan in that way. By the way, for those of you that are wondering, the mission answers the question of what’s the purpose of the business? (why does the table exist?)
The process of getting alignment leads to the clarity needed to inspire and to be able to see yourself achieving the vision. This leads to the second impact element of the business plan – association.
By creating score cards that measure the objectives and progress reports that track the tactical action projects and developing the habit of reviewing or associating to them on a weekly or monthly basis is mission critical.
Once you have your business plan, score cards and progress reports created then you can get back to work.
The first part of that work is to look at your plan, score cards, & progress reports every morning for a few minutes and associate, actually imagine yourself having already achieved the objectives you declared.
Do this before you get started with each working day and by doing so something powerful happens. It gets your head and heart pointed in the right direction for the day to stay the course and ultimately bring your vision into reality.
Alignment of your Business Plan elements and associating to them daily will deliver the growth and change you seek.