Where’s your Biz Compass Pointing?
Do you have a strategic profile for your business? If you do congratulations! I imagine that some of you may be wondering what on earth that is?
A strategic profile provides you with an outline of what you want to achieve out of your business and is one of the most effective business tools you can have. A strategic profile consists of four key areas:
- Vision
- Mission
- Values
- Goals/Outcomes/Aims
Your vision is your dream of what your business will achieve. When you create your vision, think big. It needs to inspire and motivate you and have you leaping out of bed with enthusiasm every morning. A vision provides you with a picture of where you see your business and communicates to you and the world what you intend to create. It’s puts into words your ‘why’. Why are you doing what you’re doing and what is the difference that you want to make?
An example of a company vision from here in Whangarei can be found on the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) website: “A healthier Northland”
Your mission is your ‘how’. It outlines how you will achieve your vision, in broad terms. Think about where you do your work, who you do it for and how you do it. The NDHB mission is “…to work together with Northlanders in partnership under the Treaty of Waitangi to:
- Improve population health and reduce inequities
- Improve patient experience
- Live within its means
Values are key drivers in a business. I like to think of business values like the foundations of your house. They are the foundations of your business, providing a solid base for everything that you do. They can be used just like a compass to guide your decisions and actions and provide moral and ethical direction for your business. Values are about how your business ‘walks its talk’ and the environment or culture you wish to create within your business.
The values of the NDHB focus on people: People First – Taangata i te tuatahi – People are central to all that we do
- Respect – Whakaute (tuku mana) – We treat others as we would like to be treated
- Caring – Manaaki – We nurture those around us, and treat all with dignity and compassion
- Communication – Whakawhitiwhiti korero – We communicate openly, safely and with respect to promote clear understanding
- Excellence – Taumata teitei (hiranga) – Our attitude of excellence inspires success, competence, confidence and innovation
When you know your vision, mission and values, it’s much easier to set your goals. Settling on two or three big, chunky goals for your business and then breaking them down into smaller, time-framed actions provides you with direction and a framework for measuring whether you’re on the right track to creating your desired outcomes. Goal-setting is a whole topic on its own, so for now, let’s focus on the first three parts:
1. What are the vision, mission and values for your biz?
2. How do you use your values in everyday business?
Here’s a useful link I found when researching this article as well as the link to the DHB:
by Barbara Jaques
6 June 2016