E-Class #2: How to Map Out Your Vision

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1 I. INTRODUCTION #2: How to Map Out Your Vision In your last e-class, you created your Exit Vision. Specifically, you identified: The amount and date on which you d like to exit your company The metrics and assets that you need to achieve by that date in order to achieve that exit In this e-class, you will learn how to map out your Exit Vision so you can achieve it. II. LESSON/EXAMPLES As an example, your Exit Vision could have included the following: I will sell my company for $50 Million on 12/31/XX (for our example, let s assume that the date is 5 years from today) Our company will achieve the following metrics and assets by this time in order to achieve this: o Have 6,000 customers o Generate $20 million in annual revenues o Have built 4 proprietary products o Have built a team of 100 employees o Built a distribution network of 50 distributors o Secured 5 key strategy partners Now that you have this big vision, you need to break it down into pieces, or individual goals, that you and your team can accomplish ish. Each of these goals will further progress you towards achieving your big vision. The key is to set SMART goals. SMART goals are goals that are: Specific: your goals need to be very specific vs. being vague (e.g., we will complete development of one new product [specific] vs. we will work on one new product [vague]) Measurable: You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the goals or not (e.g., if you have a goal of improving customer service, you must have a way (for example customer surveys) to measure whether you achieved your goal or not). #2 Page 1

2 Achievable and Realistic making sure the objectives are achievable and realistic within the allotted time period (e.g., if your Exit Vision calls for you to generate $20 million in revenues in Year 5, it is unrealistic that you could generate $15 million in the next year). Time-Bound making sure you set a date by which the objectives will be achieved. In the last e-class, you created SMART goals for your Exit, which we will assume is approximately 5 years from now. In the Exercises To Complete section below, you will create SMART goals for this year, quarter and month. Read on for details about how you to do this. The key here is for you to break down large goals into increasingly smaller, actionable steps. Specifically, you will need to take your 5 year Exit Vision, and figure out what piece of that goal you can accomplish in the next year, what piece of that goal can you accomplish in the next 3 months, and what piece of that goal you can accomplish in the next month. Here s an example of breaking down large goals into increasingly smaller, actionable steps. Let s say your goal is to take a new product to market. Possible steps would be: Sketching out the new product Creating a prototype Beta testing the prototype Improving the product based on customer beta testing feedback Finding distributors for the product Creating marketing materials for the product Etc. You next need to break down each of these steps even further. For example, finding distributors for your product might include: Creating a pricing list Creating a list of potential distributors Hiring sales staff to call on distributors Sending letters to potential distributors Attending face-to-face meeting with potential distributors Going to 5 trade shows each year Advertising in trade journals each month Etc. #2 Page 2

3 What you need to do is start with each of your key 5 year or Exit goals, and continue to break them into pieces that can be accomplished in less than a month. So, for example, your Exit Vision may include having built a network of 50 distributors. To accomplish this goal, perhaps: This month you will create a list of potential distributors. This quarter you will also hire one sales person, advertise in one trade journal, attend one trade show, and make 5 face-to-face sales calls. This year, you will also hire a second sales person, advertise in two other trade journals, attend one more trade show, make 50 face-to-face sales calls, send out monthly sales letters to all distributors, etc., with the GOAL of securing 5 distributors. This is an absolutely critical skill set for a successful entrepreneur, so let me reiterate You MUST be able to set your company s Exit Vision so you and your team know exactly what you re trying to accomplish. Then, you MUST break that vision into periodic (e.g., monthly, quarterly, annual) Goals that you and your team can accomplish. Important notes: 1. Goals are NOT attained linearly. For example, the sample Exit Vision above is to have 6,000 customers and $20 million in annual revenues by Year 5. That does NOT mean that I should accomplish one-fifth of this amount (1,200 customers and $4 million in revenues) this year. This is because most companies scale and grow exponentially when they start achieving success. 2. In creating your Annual Goal, be as rigorous as you were in creating your Exit Vision. I want you to imagine yourself 12 months in the future looking back at what you just accomplished. What would your accomplishments have to be such that you would be satisfied? These should be your annual goals. The exercises below will allow you to break your Exit Vision into smaller goals that you can achieve during the next month, quarter and year.. This will ensure that you continuously make progress towards achieving your Exit Vision. #2 Page 3

4 III. EXERCISES TO COMPLETE 1. Exit Vision SMART Goals.. Re-enter enter (from your last e-class) e your Exit Vision below, and in particular, the metrics and assets you need to achieve by the Exit date and ensure that they are written as SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable chievable/r /realistic ealistic,, time-bound). 2. This Year s SMART Goals. What SMART Goals will you accomplish this YEAR? #2 Page 4

5 3. This Quarter s SMART Goals. What SMART Goals will you accomplish this QUARTER? 4. This Month s SMART Goals. What SMART Goals will you accomplish this MONTH? #2 Page 5

6 IV. CONCLUSION You now have an even clearer long-term Exit Vision, and you know what goals you need to accomplish in the next month, quarter and year to achieve this vision. Importantly, at the end of each month, quarter and year, you and your team need to sit down and: 1) Assess the results of that period vs. your goals 2) If applicable, assess why certain goals were unmet, and how you can overcome that in future periods 3) Reset the next period s goals as needed to reflect current realities In the next e-class, you will learn how to best achieve the goals you have laid out herein. #2 Page 6