Creating the vision of your business as it will be when it is fully developed SNAPSHOT The E-Myth Mastery Program "If you don 't know where you are going, then it doesn 't matter which road you take, does it? " -The Cheshire Cat, Alice in Wonderland is a clear written statement of what your business will be when it is complete. It is a detailed picture of the futureyour vision of what your business will look like, act like, smell, taste, and feel like, and how it will perform when it is fully developed. 1 Read Chapter 13 of The -Myth Revisited, "Your Strategic Objective." 2 Set aside quiet time to think about and discuss your Strategic Objective. 3 Complete the Strategic Objective Worksheet. 4 Draft the written statement of your Strategic Objective. 5 Refine it, discuss it, To provide a sense of refine it again, and direction and goals-a discuss it again until it target for the future. is the best possible Motivation for you and statement of your vision your employees-a dream for your business. to strive for. A basis for decision making, planning, and business development activities. e... think BIG! Your Wegic Obpctiw is a clear written picturn of your compan)/smu~. R's about one page. It's a commitment to the fuhre,notmedyawish. It has to serve your Primary Amaitwontberealtoyou aywpeople. Write it in two steps: first, the basic desaiption, then the unique distinguishing features. Your Shtegc Objective is stable but not static. Chansesmok,butonly occasionally, and in response to major shii in competition, bends, markets. * Basic Characteristics 0 Line of business, products, services offered O Company size (sales, profits, employees) 0 Company growth (sales, profits, production) O Geographic scope O Markets served O Timing when the business will be "fully developed" O Basis of competition (price, quality, service, etc.) Unique Characteristics O Unique products, services O Unique marketing O Unique "presence" (look, sound, feel) O Unique operations O Other unique characteristics A Business Development Publication of E-Myth Worldwide Putting the Pieces Together Santa Rosa, California, USA Copyright O 1994, 1996 by E-Myth Wwldwide. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmined in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, wrhout pemlission in writing hnm E-Myth Worldwide.
Creating the vision of your business as it will be when it is fully developed Page 1 "Ifyou don't know where you are going, then it doesn't matter which road you take, does it?" -The Cheshire Cat. Alice in Wonderland The Entrepreneurial Dream The Strategic Objective is the first concrete step toward bringing your entrepreneurial dream into reality. When it is done right, you create a vision, a template, of what your company will look like and act like when it is fully developed. From that point onward, everything your company and your people do moves the company toward the vision. It works. Just ask Tom Watson, the founder of IBM. Here's what he had to say about it: IBM is what it is today for three special reasons. TheJirst reason is that, at the very beginning, I had a very clear picture of what the company would look like when it wasjinally done. You might say I had a model in my mind of what it would look like when the dreammy vision-was in place. The second reason was that once I had thatpicture, I asked myselfhow a company which looked like that would have to act. I then created a picture of how IBM would act when it wasjinally done. The third reason IBM has been so successful was that once I had a picture of how IBM would look when the dream was in place and how such a company would have to act, I realized that, unless we began to act that way from the very beginning, we would never get there. From the very outset, IBM was fashioned after the template of my vision. And each and every day we attempted to model the company after that template. At the end of each day, we asked ourselves how well we did, discovered the disparity between where we were and where we had committed ourselves to be, and, at the start of the following day, set out to make up for the dzfference. Creating the Vision If you already have achieved your "entrepreneurial dream" then it remains only to put it in writing. But if you have yet to create your vision, or you want to rethink or enhance your vision, you can use the following checklist (and the Strategic Objective Worksheet) to guide your thinking. copyighi 0 1994. 1996 by -Myth Wwide. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmined in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in wtiting from E-Myth Worldwide.
Page 2 The checklist and worksheet help you think about the various components your Strategic Objective might have. Don't restrict yourself to the checklist, use it as a point of departure. Drop components that don't apply to your business vision; add components that make sense to you. Use the 1 11 depth of your experience and your business know-how to craft a model of your future business. Basic Characteristics 0 Line of business, products, and services offered 0 Company size (annual sales, annual profits, company value, number of employees) 0 Company growth (sales, profits, production) 0 Geographic scope (business locations, markets) 0 Market positioning, target market(s) 0 Timing (years to "completion") 0 Basis of competition (price, quality, service, etc.) Distinguishing/Unique Characteristics 0 Distinctive producwservice lines 0 Distinctive marketing 0 Distinctive behavior of employees U Distinctive "presence" (look, sound, feel) 0 Distinctive operations 0 Other unique or distinctive characteristics Is a Commitment It's not enough for you to have a vision; that's just the first step. You have to interpret it, communicate it, keep it alive in the minds of everyone in the company, and keep the company moving toward it. If you don't feel a deep sense of commitment to your Strategic Objective, a dedication to making it a reality, and an in-your-gut feeling that it is the shape of the future for your company, then your attempts to make it a reality are likely to fall short. Your employees will sense this and their efforts will be half-hearted. You must believe it, be committed to it, and communicate it. Put It in Writing... a Strategic Objective Statement A clear written statement is needed. A written statement does two important things: it forces you to think through the details of the Strategic Objective, and how best to communicate your vision in the Copyfight O 1994, 1996 by -Myth Vbrldwlde. All rlghh reserved. No pert of this publlcatlon may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electmnlc or mechanical, including photowpy, recording, or any infonatlon storage and refieval system, without permission In hing horn E-Myth Vbrldwlde.
Page 3 clearest way, thereby creating an accurate "mind picture" for everyone in your company. The statement requires enough detail to give it depth and reality, but not so much as to be confusing. The real details come later, when you develop the company's business processes and organization. Contents: A General Description Plus Distinguishing Characteristics Crafting a Strategic Objective statement is a creative task. You'll probably write and rewrite it many times until you are satisfied with it; yet, when it is done, it should be less than a page in length. It's best to do the writing in two steps: first, describe the company in general; then add the distinguishing characteristics that make it remarkable. As an example, consider this Strategic Objective for McDonald's as it might have been written in 1955. Mthin the next 10 years, McDonald's will be a nationwide chain of identical restaurants sewing wholesome, low-priced food to millions ofpeople daily. It will exceed $500,000,000 in sales and have more than 1,000 restaurants throughout the United States. Customers will be able to go to any McDonald S restaurant in the nation and have exactly the same experience every time: immediate service; hot, flavo@l, wholesome food; low prices; a scrupulously clean, attractive environment; convenient hours and locations; and extremely eficient service provided by polite, friendly people. McDonald S will be a distinctly 'famerican" institution, designed to serve all ethnic and economic classes. Although all types ofpeople will be attracted to McDonald S, it will appeal primarily to families with children, and to people wanting a quick, wholesome meal in comfortable surroundings, for a low price. We eqect to see Chmlets, pichp tnrcb, Rolls Royce's and bicycles in our parking lots. Every aspect of a McDonald 's restaurant will be standardized and tightly controlled. The menu will consist, at every store, of hamburgers, french fries, cold drinks, and a limited number of other items. Store layouts will be designed for eficiency, cleanliness, attmctiveness, and customer sefservice. Stores will have five areas: food preparation (not accessible to customers, but visible to them), service counter, dining area, rest rooms, and parking. Employees will wear unijbrms, will follow exactly the same procedures at every store, and will emphasize service, friendliness, and above all, customer satisfaction. CopyTight 0 1994, 1996 by E-Mylh Worldwide. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced cf tmsmitted in any f0n or by any means, electronic w mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any intonation storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from E-Myth Worldwide.
Page 4 In 1955, this would have seemed like an ambitious Strategic Objective, but as we all know, McDonald's is now a worldwide, multi-billion dollar institution-ne of the great success stories of our time. It's easy to write a Strategic Objective after the fact, as we have done with the hypothetical McDonald's example above. The genius lies in understanding your markets and your business opportunity before the fact, creating a vision that fits the opportunity, and then making it happen. Dynamic Yet Stable Stay True to Your Dream should be dynamic, subject to revision in response to major changes and trends. But it should also be stable, not reacting to day-to-day events unless they signal some underlying shift in the company's situation. Think of it as your company's version of the Constitution. Regard it with a degree of reverence and preserve it, but be willing to make changes in response to major shifts that affect the long-term health of the company. Remember, your Strategic Objective is your vision and your dream. Never lose sight of it. Keep it in view and it will keep you on track. Copyright O 1994. 1996 by E-Myth Worldw~de. All nghts resewed. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrnnic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from E-Myth Worldwide.