Close your eyes and imagine you have the three optical instruments on your desk.
The first instrument is a telescope.
The telescope is focused on your business’ future, and where everyone is going. The telescope helps you keep an eye on your long-term plan, and how you are going to get from where you are to where you want to be.
The telescope helps you define a vision, 10, 25 years into the future, and your 3-to-5-year strategic plan.
The second instrument is a wide angle lens.
It is used to evaluate the broad landscape in which your business will operate. You will evaluate things such as:
new technologies
workforce changes
the competition
political, social, economic, and technological trends
changes in regulations, laws, and taxes
changes in customers’ needs
These are issues that you must contend with, but you cannot always control.
The third instrument is a microscope.
Use the microscope to drill down to the finest details of what’s happening in your business.
What are the financial and operational metrics that you are tracking telling you about areas in your business that are working well, and others that need attention?
How healthy is the culture of the organization?
What are the team dynamics like?
What changes are happening in assets, technology, processes, and the workforce that need to be considered for the business to remain viable into the future?
The microscope helps you understand the nuances of your business, and things that you have the ability to control.
All three of these optical instruments are a way to view what’s happening in your business, and the world.