The Approach

It’s really frustrating to read and hear from people, firsthand, about the number of displaced knowledge workers, middle managers and everyday front line workers who are just trying to get back in the game, anyway they can. And if you’re a recent college graduate, unless you have the smarts, presence and connections, finding that dream job is turning into a very frustrating journey. 

On the "I own a  business" side of the tracks, things aren’t much better especially for the solo entrepreneur and private business owner with employees. Yes, there are exceptions but every aspect of American business has been affected by this lingering recession one way or another. 

Over the last nine years I’ve been working from a very unique vantage point as it relates to assimilating a global perspective of customer sentiment towards business and why and how businesses need to transform. Over this period I participated in three turnaround situations- two involving divisions of public corporations and the third as a scrape up the pieces and rebuilt it from its original promising dotcom blowup.  It was from these experiences that I decided to revisit what I had started working on in 1998- an updated approach to developing, executing, managing and growing a business. It's called Vision2 Venture. Only I stripped out the things that didn’t work, simplified the thought process, cut away the bureaucracy, inserted a level of transparency and built the framework on melding the business strategy, service model, marketing approach, financial accountability and enabling technology as one.

You’re not going to be able to apply the Vision2 Venture approach by reading this section of my web site. I have no plans to offer a business “how to” book or CD series study guide.  You can’t learn what I deliver in Vision2 Venture unless you’ve experienced the entire model first hand. So if you have, you probably don't need us because your business should be kicking ass. It also means you've surrounded yourself with a few trusted resources that are in most cases smarter and more experienced than you. And that means you’re not intimated or paranoid that they’re going to steal the show let alone your business. Plus, you’re probably letting them do their thing and paying them well so you can focus your energy on making sure your business delivers great customer experiences every day. 

If you’re not delivering great customer experiences every day, repeat visits to your web site are probably down or nonexistent even with all the Internet marketing trimmings of social media and SEO. Maybe customers aren’t coming into you place of business or store even with a modest advertising budget. Are you facing a situation where your sales or business development staff is struggling to either bring in orders just to stay even against plan or getting customers to "convert and transact" when they come into your store?

There’s usually a correlation that manifests over time and catches many business entrepreneurs and experienced business owners by surprise. And that is, if your customer experience sucks, so will your business over time. And in the type of recession we're facing today, it's magnified to the point that it should be obvious that something has to change. 

This great recession has manifested into a well run dry for many businesses and a boom for others.  For those that have stayed above water, it’s probably because their brand and customer experience have been architected in a way that continually attracts a core group of customers due to the value received. Just look at the impending fight for customer wallet between Lowes and Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Target, Apple and anything Windows, Olive Garden and Applebee’s, just to name a few. Now take it down a few notches and compare your brand, business and distinct advantage against a would-be competitor. Who’s going to take the ass kicking- you or them?  

I designed Vision2 Venture to be a hands-on model where you get my experience and vision along with access to trusted resources that span core disciplines needed to operate a nimble company in today’s business climate. And I picked Nashville as my primary place of business simply because of its diverse set of industries, culture, people and potential.

The Vision2 Venture approach is organized into four areas.  They include:

• Fundamentals- enabling the vision, strategy, structure, culture, service offering and the perception of customers as it relates to the brand and the business with the focus on transparency. 

• Framework- ranking and evolving the entrepreneur/owner as an individual in a vast sea of CEO peers through the Business Rock Star Funnel while operating their entire venture from a vantage point representing a 360-degree view of the business through the financial statements.  

• Executing the Vision- compartmentalizes what you need to know in executing the business plan, managing day-to-day operations, growing the business without compromising the customer experience and not loosing site of the vision in seven (7) distinct methods.

• Mindset- puts you in a position to resolve situations most business owners face on a daily basis, moves you to be more effective at managing relationships, tasks and time while pulling you out of a place that most entrepreneurs dread falling into.

Within each area is a set of methods that inter-relate to one another. They can be selectively pulled together across all areas to address a particular situation, venture or project. But at the end of the day, Vision2 Venture is about positive change, action and results. 

To learn how to put Vision2 Venture to work for you, join Vision2 Venture Nation, meet me for a complimentary Situation Coaching session at a Starbucks near you or just contact me to discuss what you're thinking as it relates to taking you're business to the next level.