Simone Andersen: What is my vision?

More often than not, our networking activities – and thus our gains – are decided by pure chance. Formulating a clear vision of what you want to achieve with your network gives you visible guidelines that you can follow in a goal-orientated way.

The world is ever-evolving. That is why your vision can only be assumed to be valid a year in advance. The subjects on which you focus could be education, a new job, setting up a business, expanding your business, or something very personal you would like to achieve.

Once your vision has been set out, you have to determine which processes it must go through to succeed. What type of competences, knowledge, experience and economic environment do you need, and should there be a specific order?

Next, focus on your potential challenges: What might you need help with? Which problems would you find it difficult to address on your own? The problem areas with which we need help often halt our aspirations and visions. By facing these obstacles, however, you can start breaking down the barriers.

One phase of this process is having the courage to tell the people around you about your vision and your challenges. The advantage of expressing your vision is that, whenever you talk about it, you raise awareness of it and enable your network to come up with possible solutions.

In certain cases, of course, we are dealing with questions of patents and sensitive subjects that are not suitable for publication. But talking about your dreams and visions can be a great door-opener for you. Think about how privileged you have felt in the past, when a contact let you in on their new venture or passion.

Exercise:

1. Take one hour to describe your most important vision for the following year: what would you like to achieve? For example, if you would like to give your job functions an overhaul, the following questions might be relevant: where are you heading professionally, and what role or kind of business are you going for? Your vision should be as concrete as possible. The more concrete, the more operational.

2. When you have ascertained your vision, conduct a critical evaluation and identify your challenges. What can you do to achieve your mission, and what do you need help with? Identify your top-three most important challenges.

Simone Andersen is a journalist with a master’s degree in media science. She worked for many years at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) as an editor and talkshow host and is an expert in business networking and building relationships. She is also a speaker and author of the bestseller The Networking Book, 50 ways to develop strategic relationships. This column is from her book, which is now published in English as well as Danish and available to buy in online shops.

sla@strategisk.dk

TEXT: SIMONE ANDERSEN | PHOTO © PEXELS

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Scan Magazine Ltd.’