“Where there is no vision, the people perish . . .” Old Testament Proverb

What an eloquent snapshot of today’s troubled business owner. If I had a nickel for every time I hear, “All I do is put out fires” or “We’re running ourselves ragged” I could almost fill up my car’s gas tank.

I don’t know exactly when everyone in business started running around crazy, as if life depended on perfect performance. But I do know this: chaotic busyness is an epidemic in small business, and it is hurting a lot of people in a lot of ways.

Most people will admit they need some time management training. But in most cases what they actually need is something else: clarity.

Clarity comes from knowing one’s identity, role, or “post” within any given organization. This clarity cannot be known without a vision. And to have a vision, you have to step out of the chaos long enough to actually think and see things clearly.

Think for a moment if your daily battle of work were just like a real battle - full of swords clanking against shields, bloody limbs falling off, ranks of soldiers running amok, etc. Imagine the advantage of getting airlifted to 1,000 feet and taking in the view of the battlefield. From there you notice specific patterns, tendencies, and opportunities that you simply can’t see from the ground. After a brief time up above, you come back down into the battle, flank the troops accordingly, and start kicking some tail!

That is the value of a vision - being able to see, define, and organize what’s actually happening.

Why Are We So Busy?

When I am asked about time management, I always end up asking about vision. This stumps people at first. “What does vision have to do with time management?”

Everything! This is because your vision ought to describe exactly what work you should be doing, how you should be doing it, and why you should be doing it. If you know all of this, it eliminates most of the other choices of how to spend your time.

This idea of a vision-centered organization applies not only for you as the leader, but also - perhaps even more importantly - to your staff. Most organizations I find, by contrast, are leader-centered, where everything depends upon experience, savvy, and personality. With this shoot-from-the-hip methodology, it is difficult to have a unified statement of how a company of people stewards its time. And if someone leaves the organization, the whole system leaves with them, whether it is a sales system, customer service system, or whatever.

But if leadership has defined the specific way (via boundaries, priorities, philosophy, etc.) its team should govern its time, then it becomes infinitely simpler to implement, practice, and sustain.

For example:

Let’s say you’ve “gone up to 1,000 feet” and written your strategic vision. You wrote this about how you work best:

“My work calendar reflects a productive but simple regimen that puts our best customers first, and hinges on my most important quarterly objectives. If I find that my days are more reactive than pro-active, then I know I am not sticking to my plan, and I must adjust my schedule accordingly.”

Right there you have set significant boundaries. In other words, during the time that you dedicate specifically to those two parameters, it rules out any other activity (such as an interruption).

What many people forget is how crucial it is to stay connected to the vision. This doesn’t mean a bi-annual re-immersion into what the vision says. Your vision, whether personal or corporate, should spark you significantly. So you should read it - yes - at least 2 or 3 times per week. “But I don’t have time for that, Jeff.” I hear that a lot. But unless someone works with a purpose and a vision at heart, he will always be reacting to the most red-faced needs of the moment.

Timpanaro and Oberata Consulting are based in Kingwood, TX. Oberata is a consulting firm founded on the principles of strategy, process, and transformation, and utilizes the Total Integration^TM system of business consulting. This system has helped business owners and professionals in the Fortune 100 with definitive, measurable operating strategies that produce unprecedented growth and profitability. For more information about Oberata Consulting call 281.570.4676 or visit www.Oberata.com