Do you have a clear vision for your business?
Shownotes
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Future Proof Your Business podcast. I'm Lucy Rennie, and in today’s episode I’m delving deeper into the power of knowing why you do what you do.
I’m talking about the fundamentals of your business and I look in more detail at the bricks you need to lay the solid foundations for the future and how by identifying your purpose and getting real clarity on your vision for your business you can start to attract those people who believe what you believe and want to be a part of your adventure.
I share stories from 2 very different businesses who’ve been working on their vision this week and explore:
how conviction for what you do and really believing in what you do and how you can help can make all the difference.
the key to finding people who believe what you believe,
And how when you can tap into your purpose, your vision and your story - when you can share what’s at the heart of what you do then your whole energy changes and the magic happens.
And finally this week, I'm encouraging you to take some time out from the day to day to reconnect with your vision and purpose and carry out the visualisation exercise that I share in my book.
Find somewhere quiet and comfortable, close your eyes and picture yourself living in your future vision. Check-in with what your world and business looks and feels like, who is there and how are you feeling? And then I invite you to write yourself a letter from your future self to your present self, describing everything you can see, feel, smell, taste or touch and maybe even giving yourself some advice, some tips and encouragement.
I’d love to know how you get on, so please come and find me on social media or connect via email at lucy@lrcomms.co.uk and share with me your vision and why you do what you do.
Special Offer:
For a limited time, until Wednesday this week only, the 7th Feb 24, you can access my book, "Clarity, Communication & Connection - 3 Clear Steps to Future-Proof your Business" will be available on Kindle for only 99p. And don't forget that you can access valuable complimentary resources that accompany the book including one FREE month in The Future-Proof Club® my membership.
Lucy Rennie Resources:
https://www.iamlucyrennie.com - free downloadable resources, other episodes and more information about how to work with Lucy.
Join my mailing list -
Join me in my membership The Future-Proof Club®️ here -
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Future Proof Your Business EP50
[00:00:00] Lucy Rennie: Hi and welcome to this week's episode of the Future Proof Your Business podcast. I'm Lucy Rennie and I'm here this week to really carry on our conversation from where we were last week. When, if you remember, I was sharing with you basically all the reasons why I'm so passionate about helping people like you to, to future proof your business.
[00:00:23] Lucy Rennie: To create a business that works for you, that feels good, but ultimately that runs well, that delivers, on its promises, that adds value, but that also is going to continue to do that into the future. So a business really that does, that runs well and runs well into the future. And if you haven't listened to last week's episode, I do really recommend you go back and listen.
[00:00:43] Lucy Rennie: Cause I'm setting the scene for the next sort of few weeks. As I'm going to take you through the behind the scenes from my book into my framework in terms of helping you to think things through and really build some solid foundations for the future of your business, [00:01:00] basically.
[00:01:00] Lucy Rennie: And so last week we talked about my motivations. We talked about being curious about understanding how businesses work, but we also talked about the fact that really the new normal is. It's a VUCA world, it's what we're living in today. Things aren't going to go back to how they used to be where, we had that stability that kind of, we knew what was coming up around the corner and we could get on and do things in a predictable manner.
[00:01:24] Lucy Rennie: I just don't believe that's going to happen anymore. I believe that we really do live in this VUCA world, which is, it is all about volatility. It's about uncertainty. It's about complexity. It's about really making sure that we're agile and that actually, if we can create something that's built on solid foundations, it means that we can withstand anything that's thrown at us if we've got the right foundations in place.
[00:01:44] Lucy Rennie: And so that's what I'm talking about here. And last week was the beginning of that, where we touched upon sort of the things that get you excited. Cause I'm a massive believer in the fact that actually it has to start with you as a business owner and that it has to start from within.
[00:01:59] Lucy Rennie: We [00:02:00] don't just make a business to make money. And yes, of course that, we're going to talk about things like this as well, but of course, the, there's a reason why we need to earn money and we, we do need to earn a living. We do need to bring financial security and all those things.
[00:02:12] Lucy Rennie: But I believe that it's such a rollercoaster ride running a business. An exciting one, don't get me wrong, but I, like I was saying last week, I really don't think that if you're just here for the money, I don't think it's sustainable because I just don't think that's, what's going to help you get up in the morning when times are tough or when you're tired or when things get thrown at you.
[00:02:31] Lucy Rennie: I think it's a long game and we really need to tap into, what's at the heart of us and have a real strong vision. And that's what we can see with so many entrepreneurs, so many. Successful businesses today. We know at the heart of them, there is a real conviction. There's a vision from the founder who has then drip fed that right through the organisation and embedded it into the culture, into the way of doing things.
[00:02:55] Lucy Rennie: And really that's what I want to talk about today. So last week we were talking about tummy flips, weren't we, and I [00:03:00] asked you to think about what it is that gets you excited, what it is that gets you buzzing, and if you've been following me on socials, you'll have. My podcast producer was chuckling to herself because she'd captured obviously off the screen here because now it's on video as well.
[00:03:15] Lucy Rennie: She'd captured me and just my excited face as I was sharing with you why I do what I do. Which made me laugh because it's a proper ugly funny face where you just I was just. Giddy with excitement. But I suppose where I'm at now, it's actually, I've got to practice what I preach and get over myself.
[00:03:31] Lucy Rennie: And I do believe that actually, if we can capture and bottle that energy and that essence of who we are and why we do what we do, it's the thing that's going to be the catalyst to attracting the right kind of people to your business. And. Becoming that magnet that you want, whether that's for customers, whether that's for people who you want to work with you in your team, whether it's for the community, for partners, whatever that might be.
[00:03:52] Lucy Rennie: I do believe that we've got to bottle it up and, have it next to us so that we can then share it and communicate it. And as I was talking [00:04:00] about last week my framework, which is Clarity, Communication and Connection is the essence of. Building real fundamentals for your business.
[00:04:07] Lucy Rennie: And so it really does start with clarity and it's clarity on who you are and it's clarity on what you believe and the vision for your business. So why are you here? And I really can't accentuate this enough in terms of thinking about the bigger picture and thinking about what that end goal is, thinking about that GPS, that you'd put into your sat nav machine which of course now I'm showing my age on it, but actually.
[00:04:30] Lucy Rennie: What we're talking about, you put it in your phone, don't you, when you're going to go off and travel. But this is the kind of thing that we need to be thinking about in terms of what is the bigger picture and really understanding why you do what you do so that we can then go on to communicate that in a clear a clear and effective way that's going to then draw in those people.
[00:04:48] Lucy Rennie: So it's going to tell your story and it's going to connect with those people that you want it to connect with. And I suppose really I wanted to give you a couple of examples of two different clients that I've worked with this week, who actually we've [00:05:00] been doing exactly this exercise, which is about identifying what that vision is and really seeing how that's going to how it's going to support, how it's going to impact the business.
[00:05:12] Lucy Rennie: Now that they've agreed on what that is, once they've defined it and actually just really recognized it sometimes and gone, Oh yeah, that's what we're doing or that's what it is. So two different, completely different examples, but highlight, I suppose as well, the way that I work and what I do.
[00:05:26] Lucy Rennie: So the first example I want to share with you, and I'm pretty sure that they're happy for me to talk about them because I believe that. The world's best kept secret actually, but it's a business called Jeff Gosling who basically are an amazing business that work out of Fredbury, so near Stockport and they make hand controls and car adaptations for people who can't draw, drive a car in the normal way, whether that might be because they've lost a leg or they've got one hand or whatever that might be.
[00:05:55] Lucy Rennie: These guys create these adaptations so that actually they can Their customers [00:06:00] can be, can keep hold of their independence and can, keep driving their cars and getting out and about. And I've been working with these guys for the last sort of six months. And one of the things that I do when I'm working with a larger organization like this, like an SME is I will literally go under the skin of the business and conduct a kind of an audit and assessment to see what's going on and where they're up to and what's.
[00:06:23] Lucy Rennie: What's happening in terms of communication, what's happening in terms of engagement, all those things. And then what we'll do is we'll come up with some recommendations and then we'll implement or we'll support in terms of advising on a strategy. And. More often than not, what happens is those businesses that come to me are brilliant businesses.
[00:06:42] Lucy Rennie: They are doing amazing things. They're coming from a brilliant place. They are, integral to society almost in terms of the value that they're adding. They're just not very good at blowing their own trumpet or about communicating what they do because they've been so busy. Just getting on with it and thinking about the [00:07:00] customer and, delivering that.
[00:07:01] Lucy Rennie: Added value in that service. And so what I love, that's one of my things, is my joy is actually allowing these businesses to, to tell their story and to become, to really harness the power of what they're doing, the essence of what they're doing and become that magnet. And it doesn't have to be rocket science.
[00:07:17] Lucy Rennie: And so one of the things that we've been doing, and again, it feeds into my approach, which starts on the inside, is. Because, these guys, there's sort of 35, 36 already in the team. We've, it's gone past the idea where you can just create this vision at the top.
[00:07:32] Lucy Rennie: Yes, of course the leader needs to be involved. But actually when you've got a team like this, we need to start on the inside and involve them. And just. In the essence, in the fact of involving them in this process, regardless of the outcome is actually an engagement activity and a brilliant strategy to really bring on board the teams and make sure that, that they're all having their voice, they're having their say, and that they're.
[00:07:55] Lucy Rennie: Feeling valued and part of something. And so we've been working on this [00:08:00] focus group, this internal focus group with people from right across the organization, whether that's the shop floor and the engineering department, whether that's in the design, customer services, et cetera. We've been meeting on a regular basis and we've been looking at our, their values, their vision, their values, and all the things that I'm going to be talking about with you over the next.
[00:08:18] Lucy Rennie: The next few episodes and at the heart of my book, but one of the things that this week was we were pulling together the vision. So they were refreshing, they were reviewing, they were checking in on a vision that's been there for a long time and having a look and seeing whether it was still relevant or actually did it need tweaking and did it actually, had it evolved?
[00:08:38] Lucy Rennie: And the answer is actually, yes, it has evolved and actually. By having those discussions, by doing the groundwork, it was incredible what came out of these of the room, what came out as a conclusion was just, yeah, there's no words for it really. It was all about, high quality. It was about going above and beyond.
[00:08:56] Lucy Rennie: It was about the fact that as a team, they would do anything to [00:09:00] make sure that they were delivering in the right way, that they don't necessarily have a sales team, it's all about the customer and hearing them. Share what goes on within the business was just really for me, it was really exciting, but just to hear things like, they will, they do everything they can to make sure that the customer gets the right product in the right way.
[00:09:18] Lucy Rennie: And then when they actually went on to describe what that meant, it means even things like the fact that if. If their product or service isn't the right one for the customer, they're going to signpost them to somebody who is, or they're going to hold their hand through the process, or they're going to make sure that whatever happens, if that part needs to leave the warehouse that evening, they're going to stay behind and do it, or they're going to, one guy showed me, Thumbs because he'd literally been checking all the different parts.
[00:09:43] Lucy Rennie: And that was his pride. It was like, I have to make sure that these products are right. I can't let that go through the net and have something, go wrong in, in the at the end, with the, with, within a car or within the customer. And so coming back to what I was talking about, they were able to define what that vision [00:10:00] was and.
[00:10:01] Lucy Rennie: Because they'd worked on it together and because they'd we didn't help them to think bigger picture and where it was that they were going, they were able to move away from just the doing of creating these hand controls to actually thinking bigger. So actually it's about making a positive difference to people's lives.
[00:10:17] Lucy Rennie: And actually it's made them think, Oh, actually, do you know what? There's all sorts of things that we could be doing here. It's opened up the possibilities and the opportunities, but all in a way that encapsulates the essence of how they do it in terms of high quality, in terms of process, in terms of delivering customer care and support.
[00:10:36] Lucy Rennie: But doing it in a way that is ultimately making a positive difference to the lives of their customers. And that was one example that's happened this week. And literally I had a lump in my throat as they came around and they plucked the last little bits to it and I will share it officially with you once it's been finally checked and approved and communicated.
[00:10:55] Lucy Rennie: Cause I think it's a really nice story to, to check in with, especially if you've got a business that is [00:11:00] maybe in manufacturing and engineering and you dismiss, maybe, I work with a lot of, I speak to a lot of managers who dismiss. The idea of involving the team, whereas actually this is a real case study for demonstrating the power of that.
[00:11:12] Lucy Rennie: And I'll come back to these guys as well, as we talk about the other topics because it's been a real journey with them. So that's one example this week. And it literally happened this week because they concluded that. And then the second example was I was having a one to one with an amazing coach this week, who Came to me because she was looking for some focus.
[00:11:30] Lucy Rennie: She was looking for somebody to help her be accountable, somebody to help her move forward and been ticking along, doing great things, but not really moving forward. And she had these ambitions and these goals and knew really what she wanted to do, but a sort of. Didn't have a clear road map in order to get there.
[00:11:46] Lucy Rennie: And one of the things that we just started talking about in the beginning, and just one of the questions that I was asking, again, this goes back to me being curious, but it's as we talked about last week and Stephen Covey talks about, it's that starting with the end in mind. I asked her what is it?
[00:11:59] Lucy Rennie: [00:12:00] What was the bigger picture? Where does she want to be? What does she want that business to look like? And why, what is it that's at the heart of what she does? She has a community called the True Leaders Community and She then went on to explain to me, what was at the heart of this?
[00:12:16] Lucy Rennie: And yes, there was, the business side of things, which was about creating that recurring revenue and that stability and not having to worry about, always looking for the next project, et cetera, but actually that's kind of surface level, isn't it? And this is what I'm talking about is actually as we delve deeper, we can see that.
[00:12:33] Lucy Rennie: But ultimately the fact if she could take that pressure off herself and if she could actually create this amazing community that had, was full of amazing members in there, it also allowed her to take the pressure off looking for the next sale or the next business opportunity to be able to delve deeper in and go in more depth into what she was doing, into the work, to have space to breathe, which ultimately was going to allow her to make more of an impact on her community and [00:13:00] on her clients.
[00:13:01] Lucy Rennie: And as we delve deeper into the story and why she does what she does, I just have to share her eyes and her face just completely changed. Her eyes lit up and the energy that was coming as she was describing why it was important and why she wanted people to really be at home to be themselves to really tap into their.
[00:13:21] Lucy Rennie: Authentic ways of doing things and not have to think about fitting a model or doing things in a way that, other people expected them to do, or whether that's, a leadership training and being, learning how to be a manager, Joe's very much about them finding their own way of doing that way that feels comfortable and that feels true to themselves and just watching Joe on the screen and listening to her as she was talking was just unbelievable and a real kind of, example of what I'm talking about here in that I could feel the passion. I could feel the desire behind it, the genuine desire to help people to become, their true selves. And she talks about the ripple effects of actually how if she can do that [00:14:00] and she can really help these people, then the impact that they're going to have on other people was huge as well.
[00:14:05] Lucy Rennie: And this is what I'm talking about in terms of vision. There's no rules for it. We don't have to, it doesn't have to be written a certain way. It doesn't have to be a whole, six page document. It doesn't have to be more than three words. It doesn't really matter in terms of, how you do it, but it's about really capturing what that is for you and your business.
[00:14:24] Lucy Rennie: And so really thinking about how can we, how can we bring that vision and that, that bigger picture, that purpose of why we do what we do? How can we communicate that in a way that connects with people, that makes people feel something, that makes people think, Oh, I want to be a part of that. I, yeah, I believe that too.
[00:14:42] Lucy Rennie: I want to be, I think that's really important. So I want to be, I want to be with you. I want to come along on the journey with you. Very often at the moment, as I'm talking about my Joining the Dots program, which is all about joining the dots between the next generation in schools and business.
[00:14:56] Lucy Rennie: And when I get excited about it, because I know I do, and Joe, there's my happy face [00:15:00] again, but I can, I know, and this happens all the time. People say, Oh yes that's so true. That I, that resonates with me. Let me, tell me how I can help. Tell me how I can get involved. And it's exactly that.
[00:15:11] Lucy Rennie: This is exactly why it's really important to have that vision. And I think I mentioned Simon Sinek last week, but he's just got such a great way of accentuating these things and articulating how. Just the way he's got great way of articulating things. And for me, the essence of what he's talking about here, when he says that actually the key is finding people who believe what you believe, I talked about this last week, where actually people don't buy what you do, people buy why you do it.
[00:15:38] Lucy Rennie: And so if you can. Share your vision for your purpose. That thing that's those Tommy flips that are making you get up and the thing that's making you get on this roller coaster and drive this business forward well into the future, if you can really capture that, get really clear on it. So real clarity, it means we can then start to communicate [00:16:00] in a right, in the way that's going to connect with the right people.
[00:16:04] Lucy Rennie: And it comes down to, I think for me, one of the key words is conviction. You can see when people are trying to sell you something, don't you, when they don't really believe in it, when actually they're just there for, to make a quick book or that, selling just because they need a job, or you can feel the difference when somebody is talking to you and sharing, why you need to invest in such a program or why you need to.
[00:16:29] Lucy Rennie: Go and invest in your child's swimming lessons or why you need to, I don't know think about saving the planet and recycling your cardboard or plastic. It doesn't always have to be commercial things. This is about bigger vision and purpose. The more that people believe in it, the more we believe in it.
[00:16:47] Lucy Rennie: And actually that transferable trust is amplified and is accelerated. Much quicker because we can feel the real conviction and it goes, it's body language, isn't it? It goes through our eyes, it goes through [00:17:00] the tone of voice, it goes through our energy and this is, it really is key.
[00:17:04] Lucy Rennie: So going back to my excited face this is. When I see people like Jo get excited and reconnect with the joy and the passion behind what she's doing or I can see all the guys around the table on Wednesday who, Jeff Gosselin, who never really had those kind of discussions, but they could you see the penny was dropping and they're like, Oh yeah, that's what makes it so exciting.
[00:17:25] Lucy Rennie: That's why I'm proud to work here. That's my purpose. Okay. That's my vision. I want people to, as many people as possible, to love what they do and to feel the joy and to tap into that. There's no reason why any of us should have to go to work and do something that we don't really enjoy doing. I believe that if we really think about it and tap into, what that is, then we can really help.
[00:17:48] Lucy Rennie: And I think that starts with, we need as many people as possible to create amazing businesses that, do things in the right way. So that we can create those amazing spaces and that's really [00:18:00] at the heart of my campaign, which is for the love of small business, which is about helping business owners, but also helping the culture and the teams inside, which I think then will have the bigger ripple effect of the next generations, but also of the UK, of the economy, of the local community.
[00:18:14] Lucy Rennie: I just think we can do so much. So that's my vision. That's where I'm coming from. And I really do believe that if we can identify that, then that's. Part of the huge foundation in terms of future proofing business. And so with this in mind, and this was the premise of my book, which was Clarity, Communication and Connection, Three Clear Steps to Future Proof Your Business.
[00:18:34] Lucy Rennie: This is why I wrote the book was to make sure that people can have easy access to thinking about these tools. Cause so often I speak with business owners who are struggling about things to making sales, struggling to know where to go next or feeling overwhelmed and. All it needs really is just to take some time out to step back a little bit, slow down and reconnect with why you're doing what you're doing and ultimately just building the foundations.
[00:18:58] Lucy Rennie: And so that's why with [00:19:00] my book you also get a workbook so you can work through these different exercises and it becomes your, almost your bible really for Moving forward within your business that you can refer back to, you can think about, and you can check in with every so often and keep it in your back pocket.
[00:19:15] Lucy Rennie: But this week, until Wednesday, I've managed to get Amazon to pop the Kindle version on at 99p. So it's literally That's the lowest I can get it to, but it means that you can access the book and then you can come to my website, IamLucyRennie. com and get the free resources, which is the downloadable workbook to make all your notes and do all the exercises, but you also get one free month in my Future Proof Club, which is where we're building a community of amazing business owners.
[00:19:40] Lucy Rennie: And then there's lots of other goodies as well. So I really do, encourage you to go and get the book, even if it's just so that you can get the exercise book and work through them. And this week's homework, like I asked you last week was to tap into those tummy flips. This week, I really want you to think about honing your vision.
[00:19:57] Lucy Rennie: So either you've already got it. In which case I'd like you to [00:20:00] go and just remind yourself of it, review it. Is it still relevant? Had you, are you living up to it? Are you are you happy with it? If you already have a team, then get them to check in on the vision as well with them with you.
[00:20:13] Lucy Rennie: Is it still relevant? Again, Jeff Gosling, what we did was we almost took it back a layer. We opened it up to further opportunities because we removed some of the words and some of the limitations. And we were Oh, actually it means we can do more things or we can help in better, in even more ways.
[00:20:31] Lucy Rennie: So this week. This is where I know I've just been really excited about, but this is where I'm encouraging you just to actually take some time out. And one of the exercises that I share in the book and one that I really do recommend I love doing this and I'll actually do it every sort of every quarter, whenever I've got some time and it's taking some time out.
[00:20:53] Lucy Rennie: If you can, some time where you're on your own, whether that's at home, whether you go to a coffee shop, whether you go away for the night, [00:21:00] whatever that might be, and then get yourself a cup of tea or a glass of wine, light a candle, find a journal, find some paper, or a remarkable, if you're like me now, where you've got this new tool, which is great, so you can get the best of both worlds.
[00:21:14] Lucy Rennie: What I want you to do is shut your eyes just for a few minutes and just think and see if you can visualize yourself in the future as if you are living within your vision, as if you have already achieved so much of what you wanted to do and you're making the impact that you're making and that you are living and breathing your purpose.
[00:21:32] Lucy Rennie: And I want you to just With your eyes shut, just look around you and check in with yourself. What does your world look like? What does the business look like? How does it feel? What's going on there? Who are the people with you? What does your kind of day to day look like? What the surroundings, what's the weather?
[00:21:50] Lucy Rennie: What's the kind of the emotion that you're feeling? And really set it dive into it, and feel as it's really important to feel, right? Just, can you smell anything? All [00:22:00] the senses really capture that and embody it. And then what I'm going to ask you to do is to write yourself a letter from that future self.
[00:22:09] Lucy Rennie: So from that person, from you in the future, who has created and fulfilled their vision, who's living in their purpose, and. I'd like you to, yeah, to write yourself a letter and journal and tell yourself what it looks like and all those things that you can see and you can feel within your vision.
[00:22:27] Lucy Rennie: I want you to capture it down and I'd like you to, yeah to share it with yourself today. Now, this is something you don't have to share this with anybody. But obviously you can if you want to because it's a really nice way of connecting with people and letting people in a little bit more into what's going on in your mind and your vision.
[00:22:45] Lucy Rennie: But ultimately it's also a place maybe where there might be some advice that you could give to your present self from the future that says You know, keep going things that, whatever that might be whether it's about keeping motivated, whether it's about [00:23:00] watching out for certain things or whether it's about being true to whatever that might be, being true to yourself, see if you can capture anything that comes up for you and then note it down.
[00:23:09] Lucy Rennie: And then this is something that you can really keep for yourself and. Why not refer back to it when you're having those moments, when you're having those wobbles, or when you're wondering why on earth have you decided to do this? It's a great reminder, but it's also if you are brave or you are feeling comfortable doing that, and it's a really nice way to share a little bit more about your vision, about why you're doing what you're doing, and ultimately to encourage other people to buy into that and to connect with you because, they do.
[00:23:34] Lucy Rennie: They feel the same and they believe what you believe. So on that note, I would love to hear how you get on with this. I would love to know a little bit more about what your vision is. So if you are up for sharing it, please connect with me either on socials or at my email address, which is lucy at lrcomms.
[00:23:52] Lucy Rennie: co. uk. I'll pop all the different links I've talked about in the show notes. But just have some fun. Dream big, there's no [00:24:00] limitations to this. We can, and I think it's Kirstie Gallagher actually, who says, if you can dream it, then that means that you can bring it to life.
[00:24:07] Lucy Rennie: You wouldn't be able to dream it if you weren't capable of bringing it to life. And so on that note, I'm going to leave you. Thank you so much for listening or watching or checking in with me. And I hope to see you next week on the Future Proof Your Business podcast. Thanks once again, take care.