But, Where Are We Going?

Where will we be 10 years from now?, I asked my husband.  It’s a question we discuss frequently.  We are no longer spring chickens (well, I still think I am), and defining what is important in life seems to be a consistent theme in our discussions of the future.

But I also know myself, and the status quo is not something I feel compelled to accept.  So the question I keep asking is, “What’s next?”  Now that we are clear on our core focus – sticking to animals that fly – it is time to focus on where we are going long-term.

We recently inherited three new chickens and a totally awesome coop built by a professional structural engineer.  Those chickens are so sweet – they were clearly raised by a devoted chicken mama and are comfortable around humans and dogs.  Last week, one of them actually took some food right out of my hand – something my chickens would never do.  And the little sounds they make when I walk up to them are absolutely adorable.

The acquisition of the new coop has allowed us to move the timeline for fryers and turkeys forward, but that still doesn’t answer the question of where we are going long-term.

As we talk through this, we get excited about what the possibilities could be for our property.  Fresh eggs, homegrown chickens in the freezer, serving farm-raised turkey at Thanksgiving.  And that’s how we arrived at our 10-year target: “The Best Place for Chickens to Flock West of the Mississippi.”  Oh, man, I can’t wait to have T-shirts made up.

The 10-year target (a key component of the vision of your organization) is the one, long-range, overarching, energizing goal that everyone in your company is working toward.  It doesn’t have to be 10 years – it could be 5 or 30 years, but regardless of timeframe, it’s critical that this target involves everyone and is energizing.

In Ben Hardy’s most recent book, “10x Is Easier than 2x,” he writes that when you expand your mind to encompass what you could actually achieve if you dream big, you can’t then shrink the mind back down to its original state.  He argues that shifting your mindset to make the biggest imaginable changes is easier than making incremental improvements to achieve 2x results.  And this mindset shift allows you (or your team) to reach beyond what is currently in front of you.

In a recent EOS session with a new client, we started to talk through the 10-year target.  I shared some examples from other EOS clients, including some inspiring targets from my own clients. The response from my new client was, “Wow, I need to think bigger and beyond myself. My goal for this business isn’t nearly large enough.”

In talking about the 10-year target with another client, the owner said, “I want to be a $1 billion company!”  And the CFO asked, “Why? You don’t even care about money.”  The owner’s response was that he wanted “unlimited resources to build cool s**t.”  The team loved that idea, and so does the rest of the company.

So, when you think about where you want your business to be 10 years from now, what comes to mind?  Are you thinking beyond making money? Are you focusing on the impact your business could have in your industry?  In your community?  On your employees and their families?

I want to encourage you to dream big!  Even if you fall a little short of your 10-year target, you will be so much closer to what you really want than you would if you just focused on incremental improvement.  Need help clarifying your long-term target? Send me an email – I can help you achieve what you really want from your business.