You think the fitness industry is spilling over with buzzwords? Try the business sector.
Drawing a flowchart on the whiteboard, my consultant warned me in advance: "Chris, this is all going to look like catchphrase. To most people, it IS, because they don't drill down into what the words MEAN."
He wrote:
MISSION
VISION
HLG
STRATEGY
-------------
MARKET - PRODUCT
He was right: it sure DID look like buzzword and hype to me. Turned off to the idea of "mission statements" and "vision mantras" by Tony Robbins years ago, I would normally be quick to dismiss the ideas. On that day, though, I'd resolved to maintain 'beginner's mind' for three solid hours. Just before leaving for the meeting, I'd done five minutes of skipping, and five minutes of Ignite! focusing exercises. I wanted to give the investment - my time, plus over $5000 in public funds - every opportunity to pan out.
"Most of this stuff just looks like empty rhetoric," he said. "And to most business people, it is. Ask them to define one term, and they'll use the other terms in the definition. But we're going to use this stuff to get a clear vision of what you're about here."
Why are we doing it? Let's try an example: who are your staff, and what are their jobs? Unless you have a clear picture of your business and your services, you can't possibly know your staffing needs. If, like me, you hired great trainers and built programs around their likes...well, that's pretty fun. But not very efficient. It leads to an irregular service offering with huge gaps in business progress.
This is an instance where having a clear line of sight really helps. The first step is to get things down on paper so that you can refer to the highest level when you're having trouble at the lowest. How does this staff person / program contribute to our overall mission? Are we just adding this group because it "sounds good," or does it actually move us closer to our vision? Until that's written down, it's just smoke.
If you're like me, a prioritization exercise may help streamline how you use your time, space, resources and coaches better. Tomorrow, we're going to colour some boxes.
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