Why the Vision for Your Business Is Key to Its Success
What was your dream when you opened your restaurant? Did you have a clear vision? Are you where you thought you would be?
How about now? Do you know where your company is headed today? What drives you to offer the kind of food and service that you do?
These are all questions associated with the exercise of creating your restaurant’s mission, vision and core values. I consider these essential pieces for any business because they pave the path to success for you and your team. And they must be written down somewhere for everyone to see.
But if I’m going to be perfectly honest with you, I have to tell you I didn’t always have my own mission, vision and core values.
Several years ago I attended a special training session for a software service that we use for customer outreach.
One of the first things I noticed about the training area was the company’s mission, vision and core values. They were all over the place.
I appreciated that they plastered the core values all over because it helped every one of their employees live by those core values. And as a customer, I appreciated the insight into this company, to see what motivates them on a day-to-day basis to serve me. I appreciated seeing how they make decisions.
It got me thinking about my mission, vision and core values, especially as I was growing my team. Before then, it was always been something that lived in my head. I knew what I envisioned for my company and what values directed my decision making, but I didn’t have it backed up in writing.
You see, a company’s mission is the statement of how you operate your business. It’s the who, what, when, where and why of your business. Who you serve, what you do and what principles you operate by, when it’s all done, where it’s all done and why you do it. It’s a great statement to refer to on a daily basis to remind yourself of why you opened your restaurant, what your dream was.
Your vision is what you aspire to achieve. Maybe you own one unit now, but you aspire to operate many units. Or maybe you seat 25 in your dining room now and one day you hope to offer banquet service. Where do you want to take your business in the future? How do you want to be known? This is your vision.
And your core values are the principles that direct you in every decision you make, from glassware choices to employee pay. These are what you live by, the reputation you want for your business.
What’s important is that you capture what’s in your head and share it with the people who help you succeed each day: your employees, your customers and your vendors.
I feel so strongly about the importance of establishing a mission, vision and core values that it’s one of the first things we do during our three-day workshop we hold twice per year. It’s amazing how much more effective restaurant owners in attendance are after they crystalize what they’re trying to achieve in their business day in and day out.
We can certainly help you develop your mission, vision and core values. In fact, a lot of times when we do one-on-one consultations we start with these so we know what to focus on during the consultation.
If you’d like more information on how to develop your mission, vision and core values, please contact me.
