Business Visioning

This service is for ideas and organizations that are not yet established. For established organizations, check out our Strategic Planning services.

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We know a lot of people with dreams—from business people to artists, entrepreneurs to activists. But those dreams often seem too personal, too many, too grand, or too disconnected from the daily grind to be achievable.

We help you do business visioning, where we translate your dreams into action plans and business models.

We help you understand where you are, where you’re going, and what motivates you toward your goal. We help kick start projects by both expanding upon and affirming the ambition and audacity behind big ideas, and then contextualizing those big ideas in a concrete understanding of our community and how partnerships and resources within it can help bring your idea into reality. We help you get clear—on what you care about and which ideas have the most value and meaning. We help people get unstuck when their path seems unclear or obstacles present themselves. We help people to make tough choices.

Our Process

First we listen to you, hear your story. We ask questions and let you tell us about your journey, the motivation, and the ideals behind an idea. And we engage with the fear and uncertainty that interferes with the progress you seek.

Next, we re-frame that vision from another perspective to ensure we are working from a common understanding of the driving values and purpose. Once articulated, we ask the defining question. Why? Why do this? Not why it is of value or who needs the service or product, but why are you doing it? Why does your team come to work each day? What is your WHY? It can be difficult to speak to your why, but you do, and one by one so does each member of your team. These ideas come together as the building blocks of purpose, of a goal that is far more ambitious, audacious, and attainable than had been imagined.

When you know the why, what you do and how you plan to get it done becomes clearer. It is tempting to apply your why broadly, but as you narrow your focus from all that you can do to what you want to do a clearer the vision and actionable course emerges.

Unpacking the present, identifying aspects of your vision already realized – elements that may have greater reach than initially recognized— or pinpointing strengths within existing resources that support your goals allowing us to begin to ground your vision in time, identify the necessary resources, and key partners. Clearly, this process is about taking stock of what you have already accomplished and building momentum towards your goals.

Giving voice to your individual process creates clarity for you and your team and adds a level of transparency and accountability to development. From this vantage point you can capitalize on your team’s strengths, create a more productive work environment, and cultivate a team that is both, intellectually committed and happier.

And happy not only matters, but is critical as you define the goals, markers of progress, and strategies that hold you and your team accountable to a shared sense of purpose. We point you towards the pieces you will need— the capacity to identify and articulate the ways in which a specific individual’s work links to an organization’s driving purpose, as well as identifying further resources for developing your organization’s capacity.

The final product may be a business model and articulated plan. Sometimes it is a coaching commitment to further develop ideas or referrals to support specialists able to actuate a critical aspect of your venture. But it is always about helping you come to a solidified vision and an actionable, concrete plan that will allow you to move forward with purpose and clarity.