Your Family, With Strategy
Sara Blakely, the founder of the women’s shapewear brand Spanx, was only 25 years old when she famously cut the feet off of her pantyhose to wear under cream-colored pants at a party. In 2012, she was named Forbes youngest self-made female billionaire. Today, Spanx is sold in more than 50 countries, has a greatly expanded product line, and is a favorite of celebrities like Oprah. Blakely is now an active philanthropist and focuses time and energy not only on leading her company, but also on fostering female entrepreneurship around the globe.
But to accomplish her vision, Blakley took a series of small, important steps. First, she developed a product based on her personal need for something that was not yet in existence. Next, she began researching—fabrics, patents, trademarks, marketing. With $5,000 in savings, she worked with a textile mill to make an early prototype. Then, she convinced a department store to carry her product. This was all while still working her day job of selling fax machines door-to-door. Blakely didn’t just come up with a billion-dollar idea, convince someone to make it, then “poof,” overnight success. She worked hard to identify the steps she would need to take to validate her concept, market her concept, and then grow her business.
Blakely’s example teaches us about the importance of a strategic plan—how you get from Point A to Point B. Let’s say that as a family, you have identified your values and vision. Sustainability, the environment, and community are all very important to you, and your mission statement looks something like this:
As a family, we will endeavor to leave the earth a better place than we found it, to be creators and not consumers, and to support a strong, interconnected, thriving community. We will do all of this through honoring the values of sustainability, compassion, service, and localism.
Now, how do you live out that mission? The dictionary definition of “strategy” is “a careful plan or method.” If you are the family in the above example, you are first going to need to identify ways to reach your vision and fulfill your mission. You decide, to begin with, that you want to eat more sustainably, and that you want to own your own organic farm and sell your produce locally. You are probably going to identify a series of things you need to do to realize that dream. You may need to get out of debt first. Or you may already be financially sound, but need to focus on gaining more land—perhaps this entails a move out to the country, or saving money. You may first need to focus on educating yourself. Perhaps you go to horticulture classes, or read everything you can get your hands on during the evening. Perhaps one step along the way, while you are working on your finances or improving your knowledge, is starting a small vegetable garden.
One of your family’s top values is “localism,” which means you’re also going to do your best to sustain a thriving local community even while you are aiming for your final goal. Maybe that means finding local suppliers for things like your current grocery needs, or for seeds for your garden. Maybe it means partnering with a local organic farmer in something like an apprenticeship program, or enrolling your children in such a program. You have also highlighted “service” as an important value for your family, so you’re going to find ways to give back along your route. Perhaps you give some of the proceeds of your new garden to friends and family in need. Perhaps you donate your new abilities to a community garden. Either of those actions would also support your value of “localism,” or being more involved in your own community. Sara Blakely now donates millions to empower female entrepreneurship around the world, which is in line with the mission of SPANX: “To help women feel great about themselves and their potential.”
However you decide to get there, your strategic plan is going to include a number of different areas: your finances, your education, your children, your emotional and physical health and well-being. The first step toward achieving your family’s mission and vision is to identify what you need to do to get there. Focus on big-picture stuff right now. “Live sustainably” is a huge goal, which will take lots of smaller steps to achieve—we will talk about that process later this week. For now, highlight the big stuff that needs to get done across all areas of your life.
And remember, having a plan is crucial. Everyone who has ever tackled a goal knows that it takes daily work and discipline to achieve that goal. How do I lose 20 pounds? I track what I eat every day, I workout three to four times a week, I limit the amount of cookies I allow in my kitchen, etc. Merely saying “I’m going to lose 20 pounds” without an identified strategy for doing so is a recipe for failure. Business writer Jim Collins highlights what he calls the concept of the “20 mile march.” To get from San Diego to the tip of Maine, two people take two very different approaches. One marches 20 miles, every day, through every type of weather and terrain. The other sprints 40 miles the first day, then wakes up and discovers he is tired, so rests a day. He shoots 60 the next day to make up, but then hits bad weather and is exhausted, so rests two days in his tent. The 20-mile marcher, Collins says, is going to reach Maine far, far sooner and be better off physically than the other person. Companies, Collins says, behave the same way, and those at the top have displayed consistent “20 mile march” behavior. The same goes for families.
Legendary NFL coach and general manager Vince Lombardi once said, “Hope is not a strategy.” Your family may seem like it’s doing great; you may hope for the best, hope the sense of “doing great” continues, and hope to attain your goals in a reasonable amount of time. But maintaining familial health and reaching your vision and mission takes more than hope. This is where the strategic plan comes in. Take the first steps, and start outlining the steps to achieving your family’s dreams today.