As I have been spending time over the past two years with small business owners and leaders I have been struck by how many of them are passionate about growing but have no vision for what that means or what it might mean if they were to obtain the growth they want.

One of my favorite sayings is “You move toward what you think about.” Looking deeper at this saying what is important is that the more defined and tangible you can make the picture of your future, the more likelihood you have in achieving it. Stephen Covey calls it “Start with the end in mind.”

Your growth Vision does not have to be long or complex, in fact for young businesses I think it is best to keep the time frame of the forward view fairly short and the goals for the growth should be specific, like, “ x revenues with x profits in the next 24 months.” Make the growth goals and objectives tangible to yourself and others. The clearer the picture is for all interested parties the more others might help or bring you what you need to get there. Focus and definition to the growth vision also serves as an activity guide for the organization or entrepreneur.

To see how this works try this, go to the store, by a jigsaw puzzle, open it up to start working on the puzzle but NEVER look at the picture of what you are building. I think you will find it very time consuming and frustrating to try and complete the puzzle without looking at the picture. (VISION)

In our business and our lives we face enormously complex issues (puzzle pieces) and the more we can have a tangible picture of what we are trying to build the greater the likelihood that the picture will be completed.