It is said that an average chess player can only see 1-3 next moves of their opposition but a grandmaster can see the next 15 moves of his opposition.

You can be a grandmaster in your business, and you could make your organization last longer than the next generation, we have businesses like the First Bank of Nigeria which is over 100 years old, and we also have the catholic church which is the longest non-governmental organization that ever exist and so some things have kept organization to be transgenerational and I’ll be sharing some of them below.

Two things make most businesses struggle to make it past their first decade, of course apart from sales and having a business plan.

It’s called the Lens and the Language the Business speaks.

1. Lens.. this is how the organization views her business and her customers, do you see your business as a means of survival or a means of creating impact and giving solutions?

At this point, you might be asking, but how does the lens by which I view my business matter,
Well, it matters because every other thing is affected by it.

When a restaurant sees itself as a restaurant that cooks healthy diets and meals, there is precision in the way the food is cooked, the ingredients used, the cutleries used to serve the food, etc

Because of the way their business is seen.

2. Language
When you view the business through your lens, then you speak the language that attracts those whom your business was meant to serve.

There is a lingua franca for Gen Z’s, and there is a lingua franca for millennials, excellence is a language and kings understand it, integrity is also a language, excellent customer service is a language, what language is your business speaking to attract her target audience.

However, I’ll talk about other sub-topics that can make your business last longer than a generation.

1. Vision

My pastor would define vision as the ability to know where you ought to be and the determination to get there.

What are you seeing your business accomplish in the next few years, I’ve written about MOST (Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics) and also the difference between mission and vision, the holy scripture teaches us that we should write our vision plain so that he that reads the vision can run (Habbakuk 2:2-4)
A friend told me some time ago that “if you stare too long at the space (vision), people would stare also to know the reason” That is the power of vision, everyone who is driven by vision is passionate about a thing than others, what you see propels you and motivates you, it even decides how you go about things, it increases your lens. Every business owner must refuse to be short-sighted like the eagle sees your target from above the clouds and go for it with all your might.

2. Systems
When you have put your vision in place, the next thing is to create systems and structures
Systems also makes a business efficient, imagine a company not having a system to handle customers who don’t have cash at hand, most companies don’t have a means of collecting cash from customers who aren’t close to their physical location, and customers who don’t have cash at hand but are with their ATM card.

Systems also help a company and business to grow because there is time to focus on others, the time that it would take a bank to focus on customers that are physically present and satisfy their financial requirements, but they have created systems like a bank App, the POS, USSD, bank websites, WhatsApp messengers, etc

How to implement systemization

A. Start taking notes of things that go wrong, document and teach your staff how to resolve issues, write a how-to guide on fixing common customer problems

B. Create a list of the most common and important tasks, get into as many details as you can, and write a standard operating procedure, a step-by-step process of How’s done.

C. Train more employees to do important tasks, this empowers your employees and makes them feel responsible. This is also a way to test-run your documentation as well.

D. Implement automation.

Automate regular emails, repeat orders on stock, standardized replies, and data entry.

E. Employ managers who will help in creating fixed processes, teaching others, and supervising the operations

3. Innovation
One of the ways to put the odds in your favor is through consistent research and development, you must pay attention to the complaints of your customers, and find a way to receive feedback from your customers. Look at your competition, see the gaps between their strength and weaknesses, and try to fill that gap with your products and services, look out for that part of the market segment that looks abandoned.
Innovation could also be digitizing most processes and inculcating technological devices and advancement.

4. Leaders training
Every organization that has lasted for decades, pays attention to the development of its leaders, even the catholic church pays attention to training its priests in seminary schools, and monasteries, most banks would train their new staff for weeks until they are sure that the staff can represent the company boldly anywhere, while I worked with a multinational years ago, we had periodic training where we were taught even the ethics imbibed when one travels to a foreign country for the company’s job-related duties, yes most companies are that particular about their trainings.

5.A Business plan

A business plan isn’t just for getting loans and investments from Angel investors but it enables a business owner to be able to have an analysis of the business and know what measures could be taken.

You see, the reason why most banks request a business plan is because they need to know that the business that would require the loan has enough strategies and measures to make more than the money collected.

So if a business plan gives the bank this clarity, how much more clarity does it give the owner of the business (Eureka moment right)

6. Commitment on Execution
Strategy execution is the implementation of a strategic plan in an effort to reach organizational goals. It comprises the daily structures, systems, and operational goals that set your team up for success. Even the best strategic plans can fall flat without the right execution
Your strategy and operating model are meant to provide sufficient clarity throughout the organization on what is expected from each employee and how they can be supported to achieve what they need.
A business plan without a proper execution plan will not yield so much.

Apply these and watch your company become so visionary

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