110: Begin With The End in Mind for Your Design Business
110: Begin With The End in Mind for Your Design Business
with Michele Williams
In Steven Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the second habit is this; begin with the end in mind. We are going to talk about this habit and see how it applies to the business we are building not only at the strategic level but at the tactical level. Enjoy the podcast.
Topics Mentioned:
Habits
Strategy
Plan
Intention
Listen to the Episode
Years ago, like more than 25, I was given cassette tapes for the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey, at work. All the managers were given a set and asked to listen. This was way before audible or other ways to stream online, of course. So, I began listening. I can tell you that even today, this is a book worth spending your time reading or listening to.
The 7 habits are this:
Be Proactive
Begin with the End in Mind
Put First Things First
Think Win-Win
Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
Synergize
Sharpen the Saw
You may have heard me mention number 5, seek first to understand, then to be understood, on numerous other podcasts. While we are not focusing on that in this podcast, keep it in mind as we talk about number 2, Begin With the End in Mind.
When I was in college, one of my professors in my information systems class was sharing with me, and he said to me, “Michele, you have an ability that not many people have. And that ability is to equally assimilate and disassemble information.” I had to do a little digging to really understand what he was telling me. To assimilate is to take in information and understand interconnections. I had not completed Strengths Finder at this point, and now I know this is close to my strength of relator. Putting things together to make the whole and to see a picture of what is being constructed.
To disassemble was to see the whole and break it down into its parts. These abilities have strengthened my businesses over the years. This has explained how I could see a window treatment (remember those layers of valances and pieces and parts back in the early 2000s) and know each piece that made up the final product. And it explains how I look at a business and see the pieces and parts and can quickly identify what is working and what is missing.
My guess is each of you is able to do one of these, if not both. Learning to fine-tune these abilities will help you drive your business forward and look at it critically with a mental step outside of the day-to-day.
Now, let’s take this book and connect it to these ways of looking at a business – to build it, and to take it apart. Our focus is on this second habit of beginning with the end in mind. And let me tell you, this is a game-changer in and of itself. It has changed my personal life and my business life. I use this way of thinking daily as I support businesses scaling up.
Imagine for a minute that you were going on vacation. Usually, unless it is a spontaneous, let’s just do what comes next kind of trip, we would choose a location and make reservations. Then, we would get our travel plans together and make arrangements to care for our home or pets, pack our bags, and go. Notice – we began with the end in mind. The end was the destination. We were clear about where we were going.
When people call me and tell me all about their business and how they are not where they thought they would be, even if their business is doing well, we often think of it as packing for a trip to Alaska and ending up in Hawaii. Both are beautiful, but the needs are quite different.
When scaling a business, it is best if we begin with the end in mind from the out-start. This means, as much as possible, answering the following questions early on. Know that the answers may change over time, but do your best to be as clear as possible in the build phase.
Do I ever think I want to build this business to sell?
Do I want my name attached to this business forever?
Do I want a staff/team?
How big is big enough?
How much money do I want to make?
How many hours do I want to work?
What do I want my life to look like?
What do I want my business to look like?
While some of this can be determined as you go along, imagine the choices you might make if you took the time to think about each of these before you started to build.
Let me give you a real-life example that I used with my sons. When they entered high school, we started talking to them more about college. Was it for them, did they want to go, what might they want to do. Then, we helped each son identify where they wanted the chance to apply. And we researched each college for freshman requirements. This could have been courses they had to take, grades, SAT and ACT scores, etc. We put it all into a spreadsheet and agreed that if they wanted to be able to have the ability to apply to each of these schools – I think they each chose 4 – then we needed to build a schedule for the next 4 years that was inclusive of all the requirements at each of these schools. We used this plan for the future to make choices for each school year. We also made a poster with the school logos, mascots, pictures, etc. on it. And we put this on the door of their bedroom. Then, as we moved through the tough times of high school and the boys would complain – we would point back to their poster and remind them that they were working for the opportunity in their future, not just for today. This really put their mindset in the right place and gave them the courage and encouragement to keep going. Each of my sons was able to apply where they wanted at the end of these four years.
Here is another life example. I realized early on that if I had a tough conversation to have with someone I loved (insert hubby and sons, friends or parents), and I just started talking and plowed through – rarely was the outcome what I desired. Because, in the moment, I let my feelings take over and found myself deeper in an argument than I ever planned for. I was not seeking first to understand and then be understood (remember habit 5). Instead, I was looking to just get them to think like me, agree, and move on. Once I learned to strategize (another of my Strengths Finder top 5 strengths) about what I wanted as the outcome – and really thought about what the other people involved wanted as well, I was able to plan a conversation in a way that moved us towards that goal. Tough, difficult conversations, while still tough and difficult, became a win-win (habit 4) because I was envisioning us on the same side of the table working towards the same outcome. When I realized that our end in mind was not the same and could not be the same – it made me consider my next steps very thoughtfully.
Now, what does this have to do with business? Maybe you can already see the parallels. Building a business of intent is just this – thinking about your end game before you are there.
When we strategically consider our business, we are building a business by planning and moving forward intentionally in a direction, instead of always a take what comes our way. I have done both, and I can tell you this, I have attained more and gotten more of what I wanted in my business growth by having a clear plan for the future.
Each time I onboard a new client in any of my programs, I ask them this. Where are you today? What do you desire your business to look like in 1 year, 3-5 years, at the end? Doing this exercise helps identify the delta, or difference, in where we are and where we are going. We then build to fill in those blanks.
This strategy helps us decide if we should hire, who to hire, if we should move out of our home, if we should collaborate, etc. All the while keeping our Why and values in mind – we now have a strategy to use those to inform our decision making. Otherwise, we are making decisions in a vacuum.
I have had clients come to me who want to sell their business and retire. Great! However, they did not plan in advance for this, and the work necessary to make the business sellable will take another 2-3 years to execute. And they want out now. You can see how that does not fit well together.
Once you consider your end, let it affect your planning for today.
Now, let’s move this to a tactical level. If you are having an issue with a client’s job and it seems that all heck is breaking loose and everything touched is falling apart, begin with the end in mind. I have seen countless situations similar to this since COVID. What do you hope to have the end result be? What do you think your client wants at the end? Are they the same? If yes, what are you willing to do to get that outcome? What are you not willing to do? How about your client, what are they willing to do and not willing to do? This will create a roadmap for discussion. You can actually plan the conversation to guide you both to the end result. By beginning the conversation with this statement: We want the same outcome. Identify it and make sure you are on the same page. This immediately brings relief to you both. Then the exercise becomes getting to that end result. Keep going back and reemphasizing what you agree upon as you move through.
When we don’t do this – the exercise becomes more about being heard and being right and less about the solution.
Perhaps, this is the mindset needed when dealing with an employee situation or having a team meeting about a tough subject that needs to be addressed.
I cannot stress to you enough how beginning with the end in mind will alleviate many stressors and can rewrite, for the positive, the stories we tell ourselves in the midst of a crisis or problem. Try it.
Begin with the End in Mind.
This is a mindset and strategy I teach my clients in my AIM with Intent methodology. Because we are not just building businesses as they come, but with strategy and intention. We are building with the end in mind. And know this, we may not all have the same idea of the end – and that is totally okay. Identify yours and build to it. If it changes, accept that, fill in any holes, and keep building.
If you need assistance, reach out at Scarletthreadconsulting.com and book a discovery call. Work with intention because business and profits don’t happen by accident.
Key Thoughts:
The seven habits are: be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand then be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw. Michele (2:03)
Here are some of those possible questions that move you forward that you may think about when you're building your business. Michele (10:11)
We now have a strategy to use to inform our decision making. Michele (18:51)
Contact Michele:
Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting
Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL
References and Resources:
The Designers' Inner Circle - Become a Member Today
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
How to Rethink Your Business for Maximum Success, Episode 90 with Michele Williams
Strengths Finder 2.0 by Gallup Press