How to get your business moving again

Now, more than ever, it’s vital to create a compelling future for your business. Cillín Hearns has a proven strategy to help you achieve that future sooner.

It looks like we’ve turned a corner and it’s highly likely New Zealand will returning back to normal (or as normal as things can get in the current climate!). Now that we’re over the worst of it it’s important to start to look to the future. Whether you’re a small business or an army of one, creating a compelling future is vital for getting up and running after a significant change or downturn. As any business owner can attest to there are always going to be ups and downs but the last couple of months have impacted the economy significantly.

Now, more than ever, it’s vital to create a compelling future for your business.

“Everything is created twice – first in your mind, and then in reality.” – Jim Rohn

Whenever I need to create a new direction I always return to a tried and tested formula; I call it the R.I.D.E. formula and, even though it’s simple to implement, it’s very effective for getting going again. Here’s how it works:

R – Reflect. Reflecting on the past is the first important step. How can we know where we want to go if we don’t reflect on where we’ve come from? A useful tool to help with this is the highs and lows tool. Draw a “time line” across the middle of a page. Now, think back on the last year or so and chart the highs (above the line) and the lows (below the line) as they occurred. For the lows, think about what you have learned from that experience – that’s were your power lies; not in the events but in the learning you take away from those events.

I – Imagine. Now is the time to turn your attention to the future. Set aside a moment during a quite evening, pour yourself a glass of wine and start brainstorming what the perfect future would look like; imagine what your future would look like if you could not fail. Create it in as much detail as you possibly can. Go crazy! Now, let these ideas percolate for a while. Sometimes I put my ideas aside for a day or two and let them bounce around in my head before coming back to this exercise. The final step is to create a statement that defines your future self or your future business. As an example, my vision (purpose) for Results Coaching is to “Work with organisations, teams and individuals to enhance their leadership and performance capability“. My personal vision is to “Serve others and help them achieve more than they thought possible for themselves“.

What’s your vision?

D – Design. Depending on your focus, the next step is to start to design your business, even if it’s from the ground up. Remember you’ve done it before and you can do it again. Ask yourself, what are the Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) I need to put in place to achieve the vision I’ve created for myself? Don’t worry about the details at this point. Be bold! They should be a real stretch – you may not even know how to, or believe you can, achieve them. If you get this feeling, you’re right on the money. A good number of BHAGs for a 6 to 18 month period is between 3 and 4. When you have them, double check that they align back to your vision – if you achieve these will you be closer or further away from what you ultimately want to achieve? For each of your BHAGs start breaking them down into smaller goals by using the S.M.A.R.T. formula. Each small goal needs to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time bound. These are the small steps you can action that will bring you closer and closer to achieving your BHAG… to achieving your vision.

E – Execute. Lastly, we’ve got to put our plan into action! Put it somewhere where you can view it every day. Schedule in those smaller tasks that need to be performed to accomplish your S.M.A.R.T. goals. Every time you do this you are taking one small step in the right direction. Another useful strategy, although scary, is to share your goals with people you trust – put yourself out there and ask them to hold you to account. This is what I did when I was writing my book First, Lead Yourself. I posted on LinkedIn asking people to ask me how my writing was coming along. After a few sheepish conversations it motivated me to get cracking again. You’ve got to take action… consistently!

So now it’s up to you to go for it! Regardless of the position you find yourself in currently, take a moment to create a future that irresistibly pulls you forward.

Remember, everything was created twice – first in your mind, then in reality.

Cillín Hearns, director of Results Coaching, is a leadership and performance coach, helping business professionals enhance their core skills so they are more productive and successful in their roles.  He’s also the author of First, Lead Yourself (Practical Tools to Unleash Your Leadership Potential).  You can find more tools like R.I.D.E. on Cillín’s website or why not connect with him on LinkedIn?