Destination planning: Build the business you dream about

Destination planning is like dreaming with a deadline. It forces you to ask yourself, ‘where do I want to take my business?’ and helps identify the actions you need to execute to build the business you always imagined.

It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day stress and responsibility of running a business.

Ticking off your to-do list can feel gratifying and may even be effective.

Sometimes, though, you need to take a step back and look at the big picture.

Ask yourself: is all my hard work leading me to where I want to go?

Destination planning is like dreaming with a deadline

If you’re like me, you probably started dreaming of what your business could become even before you got it off the ground.

This ability to dream is not only what makes us human, and it’s what separates extraordinary entrepreneurs from those who settle for being ‘good enough.’

I’ve developed a planning exercise that takes our ability to dream and puts it into a business context.

It’s called destination planning.

I often use it when I mentor startup founders and small business owners to help them find their focus and accelerate their business growth. Once they have their Destination, my clients understand their motivation for building their business and they have a clear picture of what they want to achieve.

Destination = Greater Purpose + Desired Outcome

Your Destination consists of two elements:

  • Your Greater Purpose – a deep motivation that goes beyond just earning a profit but is based on a fundamental belief that delivers value to others.
  • Your Desired Outcome – an imaginary snapshot of your business at a certain point in the future.

I call the combination of these elements your Destination because building a business is like going on a journey.

For any journey to make sense, you normally need to know two things.

  • Why you are going on this journey, and
  • Where you want to go.

Once you know why you are going (Greater Purpose) and where you want to end up (Desired Outcome), you have a clear Destination for your business. 

Your Destination is your North Star

Your Destination serves the same purpose as the North Star served in the lives of sailors who navigated the oceans at night.

Before there was a compass or GPS, sailors used the North Star, also known as Polaris, as a stable marker during their travels. Sailors would keep an eye on the North Star – where it was in comparison to the direction they were heading – and it would help them navigate their ships to arrive safely wherever they wanted to go.

Having a clear and powerful Destination is critical to a successful business because it keeps you focused and motivated as you go through the ups and downs of building your business and enables you to measure your progress.

Just like the North Star guided sailors in the night sky, your Destination will make sure you are always headed in the right direction no matter how choppy the waters become.

How to set your Destination

First, describe your ‘Greater Purpose,’ that is, your deep motivation and fundamental belief that delivers value to others. Hopefully, you have something other than money and fame motivating you to build a successful company. The founders of med-tech startup Pregnascan, for example, believe that healthcare needs to focus more on prevention than treatment. They believe their telemedicine platform serves their Greater Purpose.

Why are you building your business?

Next, follow this four-step process to create an imaginary snapshot of your business in the future.

Step 1: Imagine yourself at a certain point in time.

The time should be far enough away, so you’ll have time to implement your plans and see results, but close enough so that it’s not so distant as to be irrelevant. I recommend you pick 18-24 months from today.

Step 2: Write a series of statements in the present tense that describe your business at that moment.

The more detailed you can make it, the more powerful your Destination will be.

Make sure you cover these five focus areas.

  • Product: What does your product or service look like?
  • Sales & Marketing: How much revenue have you generated, how many deals or customers do you have, what markets are you in?
  • Team & Operations: How many employees do you have? Are you alone, with a select number of partners or in a room of 100 colleagues? Do you have multiple offices in multiples countries? How are operating?
  • Finances: How much profit have you generated? How much money do have in your bank account? Have you raised funding? If so, from who and how much?
  • Other: List whatever else is important to you.

Step 3: Explain where you stand vis-a-vis your Greater Purpose.

  • Are you fulfilling your reasons for building your business?
  • If so, what specific proof do have for this?
  • Are you excited by the range of growth possibilities that you see right in front of you?

Step 4: Describe your state of mind and what you are feeling at that moment in time.

  • Are you proud of what you have achieved to that point?
  • Are you filled with excitement about a new deal that you’ve closed or about to close?
  • Are excited by the range of growth possibilities that you see right in front of you?

How to make Destination planning work

Keep these points in mind as you create your Destination and apply to your business.

1. Remember to ‘Think Big’.

If your Destination doesn’t scare you, it’s not big enough!

2. Make your Destination a part of your day-to-day reality.

Distill it into a few words, symbols or pictures that remind you of the facts and feelings you’ve written down.

Write these onto a Post-it Note and place it on your bathroom mirror or your computer screen or desk – wherever you will be reminded of it each day

3. Share your Destination with others and align it if needed

Your Destination should be aligned with the views of partners, team, and investors. This will make sure everyone is heading in the same direction, and reduce the chance of conflict.

Even better, do the destination planning exercise together so everyone’s point of view is incorporated into the result

4. Use your ‘Destination’ as your endpoint for future planning.

Work back from your Destination to create a set of goals and action plans relevant over shorter periods that take you closer, step by step, to reaching your Desired Outcome.

Destination planning is a simple tool to help you build the business you always imagined. Do it wisely, and you’ll make your business ‘Blast off!’

********************

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