I’m a Trekkie.
I grew up immersed in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I devoured Deep Space Nine and Voyager. And while I’m not as up-to-date with the more recent incarnations, Star Trek is still an important part of my identity.
Quick aside: I suspected Sean–my husband–was “the one” when, on our first date, he pulled out his wallet to show me the cartoon Kirk & Spock he had put in the photo sleeve.
When I got my first flip phone, I practiced it flipping it open like the old TOS (The Original Series) communicators.
Today, I carry around an iPhone that is remarkably similar to the tricorders and tablets Dr. Crusher, Data, and La Forge carried around. I wear a Watch that can alert me if my heart rate peaks unexpectedly and can search for information at the sound of my voice.
While I might not be able to step on a transporter pad and beam myself around the world yet, it’s easy to look around and feel like I’m living in the future.
And the fact that so much of the technology that I use on a daily basis is reminiscent of what I grew up watching on Star Trek is not an accident.
Star Trek is a vision of the future.
The people who loved that universe–and loved that vision–are the people who are innovating and designing the products we use today.
They are making that vision reality.
I’ve spent a significant portion of time over the last few weeks talking with business owners about the vision they have for their businesses.
Why now?
First, reacquainting yourself with your vision is an important part of any planning process. And it’s a good time to be revisiting your plans.
Second, you might be seeing your vision in a new way. Your vision might be solidifying. It might feel more urgent. It might be growing in a new direction. The economic & cultural upheaval we’re living through is creating new context for the future of the businesses we’re building.
Getting clear on the future you are building toward is key for the action you take today.
Look, I know we might have smartphones and smart thermostats and smart TVs if it weren’t for Star Trek. I know we might still have gotten Siri or Alexa to tell us the weather or update us on the latest headlines without hearing Majel Barrett’s voice answering Picard’s queries.
But having that vision made it all the more likely that someone would work to make it real.
Which is why I’ve been insisting the business owners I work with spend time getting clear on their vision–whether for the first time or for the umpteenth time.
It’s easy to think that getting clear on the vision for your business is not nearly as important as how to find more customers, how to price your offers, how to close more sales, or how to manage your workload.
It’s easy to fixate on these more “pressing” tasks and put off strategic development for another day. But…
Not having a clear vision for your business might very well be the main reason why decision-making and followthrough are so fraught.
It’s hard to make good decisions about how to find more customers if you don’t know who you want to be working with in the future.
It’s hard to follow through on pricing your offers if you don’t know what kind of offers you want to be making in the future.
It’s hard to hold yourself accountable to doing the hard work if you don’t know why that work matters in terms of building your vision fo the future.
Clarifying the vision behind your business isn’t a fluffy exercise.
It’s the key to being able to make uncompromising progress on the day-to-day things that we so often procrastinate on or push aside for the latest shiny object.
So what is your vision for your business? If you haven’t stopped to consider it before or you need to take a fresh pass at it, try answering these 2 questions through a 5-10 year lens:
1) Why does this business exist?
2) What are we building to fulfill that purpose?
Simple enough, right? Ha. Yeah, these are likely difficult questions to answer (and no, the answer is not 42).
As you wrestle with those questions, don’t feel the need to get it right. Let your vision reveal itself through imperfection and messy brainstorming. Write on it. Meditate on it. Take the questions for a long walk.
Get as clear as you can on the future so that the action you take today is grounded in purpose and oriented to the right direction.
Now, would some would beam to the mountains?
Clarify your vision. Plan your next steps.
COMING SOON: The Commitment Blueprint
I’m teaching a 4-part LIVE workshop on clarifying your vision for your business and life–and creating a plan for your business so you can make it real.
By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a flexible 6-12 month plan and a steadfast commitment to building a stronger business one day at a time.
I’ll walk you through setting personal commitments for growth, crafting Strategic Priorities for your business, choosing your project without overcommitting, and building a personal accountability system so you can follow through on your plans–even if things get weird (because they always do).
