If you're a modern business owner in North Carolina, chances are you have spent time developing a mission and vision for your business, and you have a detailed strategic plan for making those things happen. Many business owners are also using vision boards as a tool to bring their company closer to success. Here's how you can, too:
What is a vision board?
A vision board, sometimes called a "dream board," uses words and images to create a visual representation of important concepts or goals. They can be created using a variety of methods and materials. Essentially, vision boards help you to "see" your success and get a clear picture of where you want to go.
Why visualization works:
Not only can visualization give you a stronger emotional connection to your goals, it can actually help you get there. Visualization can enhance our ability to learn new things, help us to stay motivated, and guide us to stay on track when the going gets rough.
How to make a vision board:
- Decide on your focus: As a business owner, you might use a vision board to represent your overarching goals, to illustrate important company values, or to visualize an especially difficult change you're attempting to make.
- Invite collaborators: Perhaps you plan to make a vision board as a personal project; or maybe you want to include your entire staff or management team.
- Gather supplies: Your vision board can be fancy and professional-looking, or simply a collage on poster board--it really does not matter. All you need are a few magazines with good images (or image search and a printer), maybe a few markers and other art supplies; tape or glue and something to post it all on. (It is possible to make a digital vision board, but it won't be the same tactile, team-building experience.)
- Set a time: Give yourself or your team at least an hour to fully engage with the process, and put it on the calendar. If you really want buy in, don't make it optional.
- Have a plan: Clarifying a goal for your session will ensure the project is truly valuable for your team. Decide on an intended outcome and find a way to measure whether you achieved it.
- Be open minded: Doing a creative, cut-and-paste art project will likely feel silly to some professionals. Acknowledge that, and encourage participants to be open, have fun, relax and just enjoy the process.
- Create: Now it's time for the fun part. Find images that really spark an emotional response. Add words, quotes and phrases to enhance and clarify your images. Post the words and images to your board in a way that makes sense and helps you to connect to the goals or ideas you're trying to visualize.
- Reflect: If you're making vision boards with a group, be sure to save time for sharing. Have each person share something from their board and what they took away from the experience.
Getting the most out of your vision board:
Just like with your company goals and mission, a vision board will be most useful if you revisit it and reflect on it regularly. Be sure to hang it somewhere you can see it; and when you do, don't just glance and move on. Make a habit of taking a moment to reflect on the images and the ideas they embody. See yourself and your company moving closer to those goals and ideas. Soon, you'll be feeling your vision board working its magic.
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