A long time ago, I was sitting in a posh restaurant in Mayfair in London with some people from the dental industry, clinicians, high-level, well-dressed, lots of money, and lots of arrogance.
One of them started to have a bit of a go at the waiter, who he thought was putting the wrong cutlery down at his table.
This was a very posh restaurant.
The waiter really did know what he was doing.
As my dinner guest was pointing out to the waiter that he put the wrong cutlery in his place, the waiter said, "Shall we start with the starter, sir?".
Quite a put-down, but never a more accurate word was said.
Vision setting is the grandstand starter to the really expensive meal that is dental business.
I'm also always struck by the quote I return to about vision setting: " Vision without action is a daydream, but action without vision is a nightmare."
With that in mind, we find ourselves in a situation where if we are not to be the dreamers who imagine that we will build an extraordinary corporate that will see us on a yacht in the Mediterranean for the rest of our lives, we must be realistic, honest, and open about our business's vision and dreams. Then, we will have the stamina and resilience to put those into practice.
It is essential to have time to dream, to return to our goals, values, and why we're here, and to make sure we're on the right track to recover from the knocks and hits that running a business gives us. But when we encounter the difficult decisions, the really horrible gnarly decisions that we have to think about and wonder which route to take, it's vision setting and values that steer us in the right direction.
Over the years of teaching many dentists about business concepts, I've been struck by how few have ever considered where they want to go and where they want to get to.
When you ask dental professionals this question in general terms, they talk about financial targets; I've always seen financial targets as an offshoot of success, almost as a side effect, something that allows you to continue in the game.
I see vision setting as one of the most important jobs that we have as leaders in our own organisations (however large), and we'd like to steer you in the direction of how to do that over the next few posts.
It's often easier to do in a group with different people because you can foil off each other, talk about the issues, discuss concepts, and get ideas. But what we need to do with vision setting is, first of all, to identify the terminology and set out the word structure.
For many, a vision is a three-year plan; for others, that's a mission.
Mission statements tend to be discussed in the United States, but I believe that the long-term goal for the Infinite Game is a vision, not a mission.
I believe your vision is divided into many small missions, many small projects, and tasks that are goal-set that you get to the other end of and then refire again, but the vision never changes. It's interchangeable with your life, and it's interchangeable in time.
And so, for us at The Campbell Academy, we always talk about vision first. Vision is the ultimate direction of travel, it is your worthy goal, it is your philosophy unmasked, and it's what you write on the wall to remind you of what to do when times are hard.
Setting your vision comes from setting your values, understanding what you want your place to be like and what people you want to work there with you to share the journey along the way. Therefore, setting your values is probably the first step in setting your vision.
Let's talk about value setting next.
Leave a comment