Building a legacy in your business
The truth is that there are infinite ideas for ways to make money in the world. You can create an empire with your creativity and ingenuity.
Your business is the same way. Little actions that you take today can bear fruit over time and create amazing abundance for generations to come. You can plan, make lists and dream about how your business will look but when was the last time you actually took action? Take action now and download your goal setting matrix here.
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, but the next best time is now.”
If you really want to stretch the tree analogy into something positive, think about how amazing forests have grown over time from just tiny little seeds. “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow”.
What legacy are you building today in your business?
As a business leader, you have the ability to make an impact, inspire future generations and leave a legacy of your leadership. But too often, leaders in the business world fail to consider how to accomplish these lofty goals until it’s too late. Your business legacy is actually years in the making and the product of the many decisions, actions and even mistakes you make throughout your career. There are a few important things to keep in mind as you consider how you’d like to be remembered professionally.
Focus on communicating your company’s values and purpose. Relay stories with a message, highlight employees who are seen living up to those values and reinforce, one day at a time, the very legacy you wish to leave behind. Doing this requires strong self-awareness and a conviction in your company’s values. With this in mind, always keep self-improvement at the forefront of your mind.
Think about the leaders around you whom you admire. Emulate their actions. Ask yourself whether your vision is salient in the company culture and what you can do to further your vision among your peers and your team.
Leaving a business legacy isn’t about accomplishing great feats – It’s about how you show up in your business each day and leading others through your vision so they can carry on your legacy when you leave. You can accomplish this by focusing on the future and leading by example every day.
Leaving a legacy takes daily investment in yourself, your vision and your values. It’s no wonder so many business leaders fail to build an intentional legacy they are proud to leave behind. With the many responsibilities of leadership, it can be hard to put aside time every day to work toward it, unless you come to understand that leaving a legacy is more about how you “be” in each moment than anything you do in your business.
Take Action
Whether you are beginning to think about starting a new business or are looking at growing your patient base you need to start with the end in mind. What does your future business look like? By working backwards you are able to ‘see’ the steps (perhaps not all of them) but 5 or 6 big ones at least from where you are now to where you want to be. Next you will need to put an achievable time frame on them and plan out each big step to get to your desired outcome (or exit strategy).
Don’t worry too much about the detail as you will get to that as you go along but at least you now understand where you are heading with a few timed goal posts in place to keep you on track. Now you’ve measured your yellow brick road and defined your emerald city, start getting others involved with your plan and take action. If you take action today, even if it’s just a small step, your momentum and motivation will begin gathering speed and will reinforce your commitment. Take the time every week or so to remind yourself of the end goal so to keep you on track and thinking about the future.
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