What is a Statement of Strategy?
The strategy is the bridge between your mission and your vision. It’s how you are going to get there. It takes you from where you are and what you are doing to where you want to go and what you want to become. You know what you ought to be doing (mission). You know what you want to become (vision). Now, write out a brief plan for getting there. Something pithy, that’s easy to remember. It should only be long enough to convey the key thoughts. Think about the how of getting there. My firm’s strategy is:
Concierge Service, Real Diversification, Complete Management
Concierge service refers to the extra special care we give to making every client appointment or event memorable. Real diversification regards our university endowment model approach to portfolio allocation. Complete management encompasses all our in-house professional services, including investment, tax, risk, and estate planning, which are provided by licensed or certified financial advisors, tax preparers, risk managers, and attorneys.
What are the key strategies you will employ to bring about the realization of your vision? Will they work? Are they working now? Is someone else modeling these strategies for you to follow, or are you blazing your own trail? If the latter, be flexible. Constantly compare your strategy against your results. Make adjustments, experiment, and take risks until you find your unique profit formula. Then, keep refining it and refining it. Remember the longest journey begins with the first step. Keep taking steps toward your vision and you will eventually get there.
A Final Word on Communication
“The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.” – John Steinbeck
Prepare your mission, vision, and strategy statements, and then live and breathe them. Become so in tune with them, that they begin to permeate every action, plan, and decision you and your staff make. Communication is the key. Not only must you become immersed in your mission, vision, and strategy, but your staff and your clients must as well.
First, your staff. Review your statements at every staff meeting. Teach them to your staff. Have them memorize each statement and reflect on them. When making plans or decisions with staff, ask, “How does your suggestion help us conduct our mission?” Probe further with, “Explain how this decision will bring us closer to realizing our vision.” Or, “Does this action coordinate with our strategy or work against it?”
Finally, your clients. Share your mission, vision, and strategy with your clients. Not only will they appreciate being brought into your trusted inner circle, they will also be better positioned to explain your practice to other affluent investors who may wish to become your clients. The better a satisfied client understands your business, the more effective he or she will be in recommending you the right people from their circles of influence. Lastly, when you share your mission, vision, and strategy with your clients, they will be equipped to let you know when you are not measuring up to your own standards and objectives. They will become your allies. Clients are the best source of constructive criticism at your disposal. Take full advantage of them for your sake and theirs.
I have heard many people explain Mission, Vision and Strategy. I must say this was the most understandable version I have ever heard. I have now written down a personal mission, vision and strategy for my life. Thanks Noel for this wonderful perspective.
A great example of the proper application and adjustment of strategy is to have a meeting after each seminar or client event to discuss what worked and what needs improvement. By doing this, our firm has been able to consistently improve the quality, and reduce the costs of, our events over time, and we have been able to better align our event strategy with our vision and mission statements.
Advisors should constantly cast and recast their mission, vision and strategy before their clients and staff. The primary reason is that accountability stinks. Clients deserve the necessary tools to call you out when you fail to live up to their expectations. On the staffing side, one of the telltales of a sophisticated staff is when they hold “the boss” to the same standard the boss holds them. Sometimes orders come down from the top, and your staff should be comfortable enough to ask you as the advisor, “How does this course of action help us conduct our mission?”
As the Strategy is the bridge for the Mission and Vision, it should also bridge any gaps. As clients provide feedback, we learn if the strategy works. It is vital that the team members provide honest feedback to the Advisors. Clients often reveal to staff what they refuse to share with their Advisors. When this occurs, bridge the gaps immediately.
Trust wholeheartedly in Yahweh,
Put no faith in your own perception,
In every course you take have Him in Mind
He will see that your paths are smooth.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Always have available true sources of Guidance.
Cast your mission and vision for your clients. Welcome their feedback, supportive and critical. Remember, clients not only verbalize but also use body language. When you walk out of an appointment, you should know if you have connected.
Breaking down the mission into bite-sized task chunks will bring about your vision. Take a bite today.
Mission, Vision and Strategy: The three sides of an equilateral triangle. A mission without knowing the goal or how you plan on getting there equally as having a vision with no thought given to how you will accomplish you goal produce no results. Any one without the other fails to give a formula for success.
Both professionally and personally, two of the characteristics that I work diligently to hone are (1) self-reflection and (2) the ability to accept feedback with grace and gratitude. These are traits that I respect and admire in others, and I’ve found that they are critical to successfully achieving one’s goals.
Respect, Courtesy, Humility come to mind when reading this last entry. We should all be able to humble ourselves when we need to hear others. This is an awesome goal for daily strategy and a definite daily aspiration. But, feed back from co-workers and clientele is the best measure of our success in our strategy.
Having a vision is nothing without being able to communicate it well to others who will take the vision on as their own. Having one clear mission will multiply your efforts exponentially. Goals will be reached as a result of having many pulling toward a common goal.