Think Ahead, Succeed Now

GET CLEAR ON THE END TO GET FOCUSED IN THE PRESENT

Five-Year Vision Exercise

Whether you’re setting the stage for a start-up or transforming an established company, now is the time to think about where you’ll be five years from now. Gather your leadership team for an exercise that will get you all moving in the same direction, starting today. Depending on the size of your group, you may do this exercise individually or in teams. It may be done in one session or over several. Assign a notetaker to document the collective decisions made.

Visualization: What does the company look like in five years?

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It’s five years from now. The company is wildly successful. Take 10 minutes to write down your answers to the following questions:

• What are we doing better than anyone else?
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• What is the press saying about us?
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• Why are investors, potential acquirers, or strategic partners interested in us?
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• How are we engaging with our customers?
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Have each person, or a spokesperson from each group, share their responses. Discuss different visions to come to consensus.

Metrics and milestones: How are you working toward that vision in 12 months?

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It’s 12 months from now and you’re making progress toward your five-year vision. Write down your answers to the following questions:

• What’s our brand known for?
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• What key milestones have we reached?
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• What metrics are we using to measure our success?
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• What changes to our organizational structure might be needed?
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• How are we partnering with with our customers?
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Timeline: Work your way back to today.

Annual
Work backwards to develop a timeline, with milestones and metrics, that you should be focusing on for the next 12 months.

Quarterly
Now, break the year up into four quarters. Identify those milestones and metrics, providing more detail for the first two quarters.

Next 90 days
What are the objectives and key results for the next three months? These should be shared with the leaderships’ teams.

Organizational structure: What has to change?

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Finally, talk about the organizational changes to consider to help you meet your longer term milestones and metrics.
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• What are the next actions?

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