It’s the very end of the fourth quarter for 2020. For most businesses, the fourth quarter includes planning for the coming year. Some may focus on the strategic plan. Others work on vision statements or vision boards. The end result is to set goals for the coming year. Specifically, SMART Goals.
To start this process, one must know what they are aiming for. A first step is to use an assessment tool to determine the current picture or snapshot of the business. The first thoughts an assessment might be:
Do you have metrics to gauge how well things went this year?
Are you able to project for next year based on those metrics?
And, being that is still 2020 we continue to adapt and adjust our perspective almost daily. In this challenging time perhaps a more reflective tool will help make sense of how to plan for 2021.
If you know what you are aiming to accomplish—as in when you explain to others why you are in business—then you have a vision. And over time, you review your vision plan to ensure you are on the right track. This review is helpful to know if you need to adjust the way you spend your time and energy to bring about the results of your why or purpose.
A vision statement can be words describing the accomplishment in ‘the future’. A vision board is used to create a visual image of why they work on purpose. The point is, you and those you work with need to be able to picture what you are trying to achieve.
When you have this picture in words or in graphic it is implied that you are able to ‘see’ yourself in the picture. Once you ‘see’ the picture you then realize that you yourself must change or grow to fit into the picture. This is the first step to bring your vision to life. And it is when the picture becomes a mirror. Reflecting on how to grow or adjust so as to ‘see’ yourself in the picture is also known as professional personal development (PPD). PPD is the process of learning so when you know more you can do better. The growth and reflection from PPD make the mirror a window. When you step into your picture you are able to be in the vision. And once you step through the ‘picture- then mirror -then window’ the next picture•mirror•window opportunity can be identified.
This is one of the ways to make sense of the continuum. If you need clarity around identifying a picture to grow into a window of opportunity send an email or message the phrase Picture 2021 in the comments below.