By definition, leaders make change happen.
One of the best leaders I know, and a teacher on leadership, is Bill Hybels. His definition of leadership is the clearest ones I have seen:
Leadership is moving people from here to there.
Bill Hybels
When we are clear, in concrete terms, of where we want to go, and why we should go there, staying where we are is no longer a possibility.
If we understand that we are all seeking to make a change, then the best starting point is to get very clear on that change.
It is easy to remain on the surface level here and say the change might be to turn prospects into customers and grow revenue. Also on this level could be building our team or growing our organization.
But on a deeper level, we need to consider the change we can make to our customer. If someone engages with our company or product for the next two years, how will it transform them?
What is a customer’s current state, and what is the better, future state you can help them move towards?
The Business of Customer Transformation
There is a wonderful and insightful short ebook by Michael Schrage called Who do you want your customers to become?
In the book, Michael talks about the need to develop a customer vision statement:
A customer vision statement explicitly identifies the qualities and attributes the organization aspires to create in its customers.
Michael Schrage
The main things that great brands do is fundamentally change the people they serve. This transformation creates value. Great companies or great products help us become the people we want to become.
What kind of customer are you trying to create?
The real purpose of business is to profitably transform a customer. Is what we are asking them to become, good for them and good for business?
When we clarify this on the front end, it simplifies things down the line in the process. Things like figuring out who you want to help and how you can help them become much easier.
So, I will go first.
What transformation am I seeking to make with Seacliffs? Who do I want my readers, customers or clients to become? What kind of outcomes do they desire that I would be best suited to help them achieve?
Seacliffs Customer Vision Statement
My hope is to help people gain mastery over their emotional and relational world so that they can achieve greater results.
I can help those who are overwhelmed or looking for increased performance to clarify their vision and direction, consider the challenges they face and develop a plan of action to bring about the results they desire.
The increasing stress and pressure we face leads to undesirable outcomes and can restrict performance. I can help people implement new systems and practices to move through stressful situations and turn them into positive ones. By finding new growth in our emotional and relational world, improving emotional intelligence, we can choose to be more decisive and able to stay engaged and persist in the face of adversity.
My vision also includes consulting with leadership, marketing, and sales teams to create alignment and a unified front. I want to help leaders grow their business by clarifying their internal and external messaging. With a clear vision and talking effectively about what you are doing, teams are more equipped to bring about the desired change.
What is your Customer Vision Statement?
Creating this statement was a difficult process. Initially, it was hard to be specific about the outcomes I wanted customers to generate. Then it was hard to narrow it down to the ones that I was best suited to help produce. Wanting to be all things to all people is a hang up of mine, so it was difficult to cut certain things out.
How about you? Have you developed a statement like this?
If you would like help in clarifying yours, feel free to get in touch.