Remaining True to the Vision
A couple of weeks ago a reader asked me the following “I would love to know how you had such certainty about the vision for REA. Well, not certainty about the vision, but the ability to remain steadfast in the face of adversity.”
Great question. For me, in the early days of the business, the vision needs to be something that is achievable and as the business grows, the vision changes. So, for example, the vision from REA went something like this (very rough)
“Achieve break even financial performance and rapidly reinvest for the future”
“Become the leading residential real estate site in Australia”
“Become the leading online real estate services player in Australia”
“Become the leading online real estate services player globally”
Now to keep the faith … you need to keep vision simple and keep talking about it everyday in every discussion you have. People need to believe it and know that you believe it. And even if you are a little wobbly, never show it to anyone … keep the faith. To make sure that people “get it”, you need to keep the vision simple and you need to be clear in how you are going to deliver it.
Now if you are doubting something, trust your gut and explore it – you might be right. If something doesn’t add up, change it and change the vision. There is no harm in that. Unless you are a large multinational with 10,000′s employees aligned around the vision, you can change it and change it often. Also – don’t get too hung up on the vision, they are just words … it is the actions that will speak louder.
Finally – i guess if you truly believe in what you are doing, not even adversity will stop you.
- Do You Pass the Beer Test?
When employing people, it is important that you get on with them. In an interview how often do you ask yourself if this person can pass the beer test? Read on for more ... ...
- Inman – A Great Conference
Every 6 months i go to the Inman Conference in the US. The conference is run by Brad Inman – a lead commentator on all things internet and the US real estate market. There conferences are held in January in...
- Who am I?
For the last couple of years i have been writing this blog with a degree of anonymity. I did this so i could comment freely on the things that were happening around me. However i realise that this doesnt really...
- What Makes a Great CEO?
Here is a great question “i am doing a project for school and it says pick your dream job and describe the requirements for that job…i choose the ceo of microsoft and its hard to find the requirements needed…so if...
- What Makes a Good CEO?
Now this is a tricky question as it depends on the business the CEO is running. The CEO of a not for profit will have some different skills versus a CEO of a large corporate versus a CEO of a...
“if you truly believe in what you are doing, not even adversity will stop you.” – I love it !