Latest / Smart Business Growth with Nicky Miklós / Harnessing the Power of Personal and Business Vision for Success

Transcript

Harnessing the Power of Personal and Business Vision for Success · Smart Business Growth with Nicky Miklós

• 0:04
  Nicky: Welcome to Thrive in Business Together with Nicki and Ness.
• 0:11
  Ness: We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of country, the Yagura and Wurundjeri people of Brisbane and Melbourne respectively, where Nikki and I both work and live.
• 0:26
  Nicky: Hello beautiful people and another gorgeous day here in the land of thriving in business with Nicki and Ness.
• 0:33
  Nicky: How are you?
• 0:34
  Ness: Ness Fantastic.
• 0:35
  Ness: It's been a beautiful bit of sunshine in Melbourne, which is rare for the middle of winter.
• 0:40
  Ness: Even though we are batching this, it could be a beautiful day, the day it comes out.
• 0:46
  Nicky: It might be summer by the time, or spring, because that's how organised we are.
• 0:50
  Nicky: Yay to us.
• 0:51
  Nicky: So today we want to share with you, we want to talk to you about the importance of your vision.
• 0:58
  Nicky: Now you might be thinking, oh, but I already have my vision, I've got my vision mission purpose.
• 1:03
  Nicky: Or we've got the business vision down pat.
• 1:05
  Nicky: Or you might be thinking, oh gosh, I knew one day you were going to bring this up.
• 1:09
  Nicky: Wherever you are, we've got a bit of a different lens on this conversation around vision.
• 1:15
  Nicky: We want to take you through today.
• 1:16
  Nicky: Now, if you've worked with us before, if you've had a business health check or if you're considering having a business health check, one of the frameworks we use is called Compass.
• 1:25
  Nicky: It's an acronym for key areas in the business that we need to have a look under the hood of to make sure is it running smoothly, so that the vehicle of your business is running smoothly.
• 1:34
  Nicky: But the reason we're not going into what that acronym is today but I bring it up because the name Compass, the reason it's called a Compass is that when you follow a Compass, you move in a direction that you want to.
• 1:48
  Nicky: I'm aware of not saying the right direction or the perfect direction, because we have to have a fluidity, we have to have a flexibility Sometimes the best detours are the most fun, literally when we're traveling and also the most important in business.
• 2:02
  Nicky: But this term of Compass are you looking at the direction that you're going to in your business?
• 2:08
  Nicky: We have another cool framework, that's our True North Wheel, and it's all about making sure that you're prioritizing life just as much as you are prioritizing business growth and managing money Monday I was going to say and managing money.
• 2:22
  Nicky: When you have those focus of those three key areas of equal impact, then you are on your way to what we call a True North.
• 2:30
  Nicky: And again I bring that up, there's a reason that we called it the True North.
• 2:35
  Nicky: There's a reason that we have these tools in place that are your Compass to get you to your True North.
• 2:40
  Nicky: Oh gosh, how smooth was that Ness.
• 2:45
  Nicky: And so I want to break this down a bit more to look at how does your vision relate to this?
• 2:49
  Nicky: And what we see oftentimes in businesses is sometimes the vision is one of those cool things that, oh, I've got to get to that one day.
• 2:58
  Nicky: I don't have the thinking space or it's a band-aid together kind of term for now, but it's not really used or utilized.
• 3:04
  Nicky: That's sort of one camp.
• 3:06
  Nicky: The other camp is that a business has a vision, a good, solid, strong business vision in place.
• 3:12
  Nicky: It might be on your marketing, it might be on your wall All of your team know about it.
• 3:15
  Nicky: It's on your sales collateral in these key areas, which is awesome, and we want to celebrate that.
• 3:20
  Nicky: That's where we want to get to.
• 3:21
  Nicky: The piece that is often missing is the personal vision, and what we're inviting you to do today is to really look at and create.
• 3:31
  Nicky: If you don't have already a personal vision as well as your business vision, Ness, I'd love to throw to you to pick your brain why do we want both?
• 3:40
  Nicky: Why does it matter that we have a business vision and a personal vision?
• 3:46
  Ness: The great question, and it's something that probably came to me a number of years ago when I was in my previous business, and it was this connection between having the business vision but really understanding the emotional connection to it, because I do see I've worked in corporates, as have you.
• 4:05
  Ness: Some of the leaders out there that listen to our podcast will know that at times it's hard to buy into a vision and understand it and be able to say what it is verbatim Without understanding what it actually means to you and how it emotionally connects to you and how it drives what it is that you choose to do in your life.
• 4:27
  Ness: Where we introduce this into our small to medium enterprise business clients is around saying, well, let's get really clear on what your vision is for your business.
• 4:37
  Ness: And we've worked with clients that have had businesses for a number of years like 10 years plus and they maybe started it and had a vision back then.
• 4:45
  Ness: But getting caught up into the busyness of what's going on day to day means that perhaps it's just on the back burner, forgotten about, and things change.
• 4:56
  Ness: Right, you change seasons, come and go over a decade.
• 5:00
  Ness: Gosh.
• 5:00
  Ness: Decade ago my kids were in school and I was co-parenting and all that kind of stuff.
• 5:05
  Ness: It's very different to where I am now.
• 5:07
  Ness: So therefore, your personal vision changes and, potentially, as you grow your business, your business vision changes as well.
• 5:13
  Ness: You might deviate into different areas.
• 5:16
  Ness: So it's really important that we understand what the business vision is, and I think that where we get stuck is if we don't have a connection, an emotional connection, to how that impacts us in our life and how it fulfills our personal vision.
• 5:33
  Ness: We actually get caught so much up in it that it can get us into that busy trap, because often and everybody I know who's written a personal vision it's not anything to do with work.
• 5:48
  Ness: It's about the people that matter most in your life.
• 5:50
  Ness: It's about what you might want to achieve financially.
• 5:53
  Ness: It could be about what you want to achieve in your health.
• 5:56
  Ness: It could be about your relationships.
• 5:58
  Ness: There's so many different areas that we have in relation to the way we live our lives and, as I said, we go through different seasons in our lives and that can change.
• 6:07
  Ness: So when we actually have that emotional connection between the two, what that helps us the most with is prioritising what matters, but it also helps us to turn up on those days when it's hard Because, let's face it, anyone in business, anyone in leadership, there are days that suck.
• 6:25
  Ness: And on those days where you have to drag yourself out of bed and get into it and just follow the motion because you're stuck in a funk, they're the days that you're really beneficial to reconnect back.
• 6:38
  Ness: Okay, why does this matter so much to me?
• 6:41
  Ness: And if it's external to us and it's about, oh, but I want to do good in the world and I want to do good by people, that's great.
• 6:47
  Ness: But how does you doing that help you?
• 6:50
  Ness: And it's not about for some people they will be financially driven, but for many different reasons, because it could be about security and comfort.
• 6:59
  Ness: It could be about adventure, like having the money to fund holidays.
• 7:03
  Ness: There's so many ways that people find the vehicle to achieve that outcome and it differs for everyone.
• 7:10
  Ness: So when we marry the two together, you actually have the opportunity to understand why what you do.
• 7:17
  Ness: What you do matters not just to other people, but to yourself and the people who matter the most in your world your family.
• 7:23
  Ness: I trust I'm making sense in explaining it that way.
• 7:26
  Ness: Nikki, have you got anything else to?
• 7:28
  Nicky: add, definitely make sense.
• 7:29
  Nicky: And what comes to mind as well, then, when you're talking about particularly the, you know it might be money goals.
• 7:36
  Nicky: There's a difference between goals and vision.
• 7:38
  Nicky: So a good way to look at vision is you might hit a money goal, what do you do with that money, what does that money give you?
• 7:46
  Nicky: And that often is what your vision is.
• 7:49
  Nicky: So sometimes people can get a bit confused around personal vision, personal goals, and that's an important differentiator.
• 7:56
  Nicky: It's important to have goals and you need to have that personal vision.
• 7:59
  Nicky: I think you described it really beautifully because it's very much that personal feeling and those tough days, because, yes, you're absolutely right, we don't all have amazing days every day.
• 8:09
  Nicky: Nobody does in any area of life.
• 8:12
  Nicky: It's not possible to stop setting yourself for that expectation and you can love what you do, I love what I do, and there's still some days that are really hard to get up and do it, even when things are going really well, and that's where you can think of that personal vision.
• 8:26
  Nicky: I would also add to that it's not that sounding fancy.
• 8:28
  Nicky: So your business vision might be like we said, something that is displayed and people see it and you're inviting them into what that business vision is and your team members, but a personal vision is unique to every person in the business, as Ness was saying, and it doesn't matter if you're a corporate, if you're business, if you've got a team of five, a team of one.
• 8:47
  Nicky: Each person will have their personal vision and it doesn't matter what the words are, as long as it is meaningful to you.
• 8:54
  Nicky: So, for example, my personal vision that I've had for the last eight, nine years is to create a certain lifestyle for my family and I to enjoy and to give back to causes that I love.
• 9:05
  Nicky: I have visualized on that.
• 9:07
  Nicky: I had that statement.
• 9:08
  Nicky: It's so general, generic sounding to you, ness, to people listening, but when I think about that certain lifestyle, I know exactly what that is.
• 9:18
  Nicky: It's going on amazing holidays with my family.
• 9:20
  Nicky: I mean.
• 9:21
  Nicky: It's buying my mum a Dyson no, that's not the sexiest, but you know an upgrade on a washing machine.
• 9:26
  Nicky: It's being able to just create that lifestyle for us to enjoy land, to give back to the causes that don't have a voice and they're personal to me.
• 9:35
  Nicky: I get so much meaning from that.
• 9:37
  Nicky: So when I'm having a tough day, when I'm tired, think about that, because you can see how well hang on, I'm not just doing it.
• 9:44
  Nicky: It is for me, but it's also for my reasons, my people, my closest, my things that matter.
• 9:50
  Nicky: Does that make sense?
• 9:51
  Nicky: I feel like I'm rambling a bit now Just to build on that.
• 9:54
  Ness: I wanted to give an example of what it could be so that people don't overthink this 100% and it's a great example, nikki, and we've obviously shared with each other these, and so it's really refreshing to hear you talk about that again and I think that that is such a great driver when you said, you actually really get into that and you visualise that and you see that happening and that's why it has to be so unique for everybody.
• 10:20
  Ness: It has to be different, because mine, as well as yours, centers around family and the experiences I get to have, but I'm closer to retirement, so there's the wealth creation part of it as well, so that I can actually enjoy life when I choose to stop working.
• 10:34
  Ness: So there's different variations of it and that's really important.
• 10:38
  Ness: When it comes to giving back or whatever it is, we created a playbook on this.
• 10:43
  Ness: It's actually we'll put this in as a resource in our show notes, because sometimes people just don't know where to start.
• 10:49
  Ness: Like you might be able to come up with your business vision but not your personal vision, or vice versa, you might be able to easily nail your personal vision but not your business.
• 10:57
  Ness: So we just got some questions for you to reflect on to be able to start to create that, and that has to be the starting point and the centerpiece to any kind of planning that we do is understanding the purpose and the why it matters.
• 11:10
  Ness: So I'll make sure that's in the show notes.
• 11:41
  Nicky: And if you're ready for us to help in a more hands-on way, email us at hello, at businesstogethercomau, and we'll set up a time to chat.
• 11:49
  Nicky: Speaking of the why the person that comes up, starting with the why Simon Sennig there's a really good quote that he said, which is that we are not victims of our situation, we are the architects of it.
• 12:02
  Nicky: We are not victims of our situation, we are the architects of it.
• 12:06
  Nicky: And I wonder, reflecting on that, what is the reframe, or what comes up for the people that are listening, what comes up for you when you hear that quote?
• 12:15
  Nicky: I?
• 12:15
  Ness: think the possibility comes up for me when I hear that quote, because often and I see it aligning to when we're feeling like we're heading towards burnout, because everybody else is having a piece of us right.
• 12:28
  Ness: So it's our external world is driving how we get up every day, how we approach life, how we feel.
• 12:35
  Ness: And that quote kind of what that brings home to me is, by connecting to our vision, we actually take that control back and we're able to be, I guess, flipping it and more proactive around.
• 12:50
  Ness: Well, if this is what I want to achieve in the business and this is what I want to achieve in my life, how do I make change so that that happens?
• 12:58
  Ness: Because I think that often, when we're stuck in the busy trap, when we're juggling all the balls, when business feels chaotic, that the last person that gets looked after in that is us, and so it does feel like the rest of the world is kind of telling you and dictating what you need to do, how many hours you need to work, what, where your attention needs to go, and we've got to bring it back around all the time to.
• 13:20
  Ness: We can take accountability and responsibility for that and all it really takes is listening, listening deeply into what it is you really want, because it's your business.
• 13:32
  Ness: And even if you're in a career, your job has to also relate to your personal vision, because if you can't fulfill that because of the demands of work or because you've got to work against your values or for whatever that is, then it's just as relevant for somebody who is pursuing career development, particularly in leadership, which is mainly our audience, and and it's not just the business owner who will benefit from that- Absolutely so.
• 14:00
  Nicky: Even if you have a team, this could be an exercise that you encourage your team members to do, because really, the business vision, whatever that is, whether it's the corporate vision, the business vision, you're the business owner or not that's a vehicle to help you fulfill your personal vision.
• 14:15
  Nicky: That is a vehicle to help you fulfill that personal vision.
• 14:20
  Nicky: I love what you said there Ness around listen deeply to what you want.
• 14:24
  Nicky: And the thing is that some people who are listening might be thinking why do you take accountability for my choices?
• 14:29
  Nicky: I'm aware of that.
• 14:30
  Nicky: That's great.
• 14:31
  Nicky: That's the first step.
• 14:32
  Nicky: Have you taken the time to listen deeply to what you truly want?
• 14:36
  Nicky: And if you don't have a personal vision that has been formulated, then possibly not I'm not going to say you definitely haven't, but possibly not because by following this process and taking this time, you are creating the space to listen deeply to what you truly want.
• 14:53
  Nicky: And I'd love to shift this just to close out, before we give an actionable action, which I have a suspicion of what that might be.
• 15:03
  Nicky: But I just want to touch on from a work perspective with the business vision.
• 15:07
  Nicky: There's a lot of commercial reasons why it's really valuable to have a business vision, like we already talked about, it's great for your sales and marketing, it's great to have what you stand for, all of that but it's also really important to help avoid burnout within yourself, but within your team.
• 15:24
  Nicky: So the World Health Organization has done a lot of research around burnout in different areas and they did some study in 2019 around why burnout happens within teams, and the five main reasons are unfair treatment in the workplace, workloads that are unmanageable and or unrealistic, lack of clarity regarding job expectations or communication, support from the management team and unreasonable deadlines.
• 15:50
  Nicky: If you are clear on your vision and your vision is your compass or your guiding true north, which is what we talked about at the very beginning if you actually use it in that way, it will determine everything within your business the culture, the operating rhythms, even down to the people in the upskilling, and so I really believe that by getting clear on your personal vision, but also that business vision, that's another added benefit to make sure that you have it in place and that you're really utilizing it within your business as that guiding true north, that compass, so that you're avoiding not just burnout for yourself but for your team.
• 16:29
  Nicky: Any additional thoughts to add to that myth?
• 16:32
  Ness: Absolutely.
• 16:32
  Ness: I think you've said it really well, because when we are clear around the kind of business we want, we sort of then get to add in potentially a mission statement or definitely values.
• 16:44
  Ness: And it's about living to that expectation that you've set yourself and your team, living to that and that being the guide for you to be able to achieve what it is you want.
• 16:56
  Ness: And it's the starting point for our clients and the way we work.
• 17:00
  Ness: It's definitely the starting point to planning as well.
• 17:02
  Ness: So it's the very first step in the planning kind of scope of the way that we go about doing business.
• 17:08
  Ness: And every time we come back to look at our plan on a page, for example.
• 17:13
  Ness: So we do a plan on a page, we get our clients to do a plan on the page for the full quarter and looking at that, it's reconnecting every three months or more, every month back into.
• 17:24
  Ness: Am I still aligned to that?
• 17:27
  Ness: Are my goals that I'm setting going to help me achieve that?
• 17:30
  Ness: Because sometimes we think get lost in the how we should be doing in business, how much money we should be making, what kind of business we should have, how many staff we should have.
• 17:39
  Ness: You know all of that, the shooting all over ourselves happens and we lose sight of the way we're setting up.
• 17:47
  Ness: Our business is no longer in alignment with what we really wanted the business to achieve, because it's going off in a different direction.
• 17:53
  Ness: So what I would say is definitely the most important step to be able to start your planning, but also, if you haven't looked at it for a while, it's really important to reconnect to it so that again that emotional connection is strong but also it starts to.
• 18:09
  Ness: You can do a check around are we actually aligned to that?
• 18:13
  Ness: Are we still moving towards that?
• 18:14
  Ness: And you know the fact that World Health Organization is somebody who's done a lot of research into this, so we're not making this stuff up.
• 18:22
  Ness: So this is all about also avoiding that burnout phase.
• 18:25
  Ness: So I guess I feel like, when you said earlier we have alluded to that it's going to be a no brainer for everybody listening as well.
• 18:34
  Ness: But, nikki, what would you say, the one you love to say, actionable action within the next few hours?
• 18:40
  Ness: What is it that our listeners can choose to do to be able to move forward in this space?
• 18:46
  Ness: We'd be interested to see if we're thinking the same thing.
• 18:48
  Nicky: So for me it is carve out some time, even if it's 10, 15 minutes.
• 18:53
  Nicky: You can find 10, 15 minutes, I know that you can to reflect on what is my personal vision.
• 18:59
  Nicky: We've got the link to the playbook.
• 19:01
  Nicky: Download that if you want some guided questions, if you want to take it to the next level.
• 19:05
  Nicky: Write down the answers.
• 19:06
  Nicky: Come up with that vision statement, that personal vision statement for yourself.
• 19:10
  Nicky: At the very least, start reflecting on what it could be.
• 19:14
  Nicky: Is that what you were thinking, ness?
• 19:15
  Nicky: 100%.
• 19:16
  Ness: Yes, absolutely.
• 19:18
  Ness: Take time in the next 30 hours and if you've already done it, reconnect.
• 19:22
  Nicky: If you haven't done it, get started and Ness and I look at this minimum every 12 months and, if we can, we aim to do it every six months, and we've set up the structure for it.
• 19:32
  Nicky: It's not about remembering to do these things.
• 19:34
  Nicky: Set yourself up for success.
• 19:36
  Nicky: So right now, put some time in your diary 15 minutes to start reflecting on your personal vision statement.
• 19:41
  Nicky: Set yourself up for success.
• 19:43
  Nicky: That's our top tip this week.
• 19:45
  Nicky: Thank you for joining us and we can't wait to see you next week.
• 19:48
  Nicky: Bye for now.
• 19:49
  Nicky: Thanks for listening to today's EPP.
• 19:51
  Nicky: If you loved what you heard, find us on LinkedIn and let us know what you enjoyed.
• 19:55
  Nicky: Also, don't forget to rate and review and, of course, share this episode with your biz besties.
• 20:01
  Nicky: Ness and I are obsessed with helping you break through your business and life barriers to get you to your next frontier of growth.
• 20:10
  Nicky: We bring two business minds and two perspectives into your business.
• 20:15
  Nicky: As the magician, I help connect the dots, see the possibilities and the hidden potential, and, as the architect, ness turns those possibilities into practice, implementing plans and frameworks, because, let's face it, every vision needs a practical pathway to success.
• 20:32
  Nicky: We offer business health checks, taking you from chaos to clarity in just 30 days.
• 20:38
  Nicky: Are you curious to find out more, send us an email or go old school and give us a call.
• 20:44
  Nicky: All our details are in the show notes and on our website.
• 20:48
  Nicky: Until next time, happy listening and here's to thriving in business and life.