If we could ask any business owner 1 question, we would ask them “What are your priorities?” In this quick training, Bradley is breaking down why this is so important!
Do You Repeat The Same Year…Every Year?
Many business owners never take the time to decide where they want to go. Readers of our blog usually don’t fall into this category on a broad scale, but I would like to challenge you to dig deeper. When I ask, “What are your priorities?” what I mean is “What are your goals?” You need to have clear goals for each area of your business and for each of your employees. For example, in your business, you may have revenue goals like selling more, increasing top line revenue, and bringing in more bottom line profit. You may have goals for yourself, such as working fewer hours or making your business more independent so you can pursue other businesses. Or, you might be seeking to have a more engaged workplace culture that has a positive community impact. Most of the owners in our community want all of this and more! So these would be priorities and goals, but you can’t stop here.
Why Are Your Priorities Important?
If I was your business coach, I would sit down and ask you to tell me about your priorities. Not only what they are, but also why they’re important to you. I have found that owners who have clear goals and are able to accomplish them can tell me the “why” behind the “what.” Here is where I like to make a distinction between goals and priorities. If you want something, but can’t really explain why this is a goal to me. I treat goals as a wish – something you just want to have. However, with that goal there is rarely a plan to make it happen. Instead, I recommend having targets, outcomes, or a vision.
Priorities Lead To Action
Once you’ve identified your goal or vision, then you can take another step. You want to think about how these priorities will be accomplished. Remember, you don’t need to have the same priorities every year. This leads to that feeling of Groundhog Day, where you’re living the same year over and over. Instead, you want to use the idea of a three year vision to help you adjust and set priorities each year based on where you want your business to go. I shared more about having a three year vision here. Ultimately, you cannot delegate this part of the business. It is up to you as the owner to determine where you want your business to go, and how you will lead it there.
Resources to Know Your Priorities
Bradley has many resources to grow your leadership in the area of vision and priorities. Check out a few of them:
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