All Solutions Start With Vision

This is Part 24 of of a series on vision. You can read previous installments here:
Part 1. Part 2. Part3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9. Part 10. Part 11. Part 12. Part 13. Part 14. Part 15. Part 16. Part 17. Part 18. Part 19. Part 20. Part 21. Part 22. Part 23.

I realize that if you’re new to this concept of vision, much of the conversation about vision can sound very esoteric.

Earlier in this series I promised some tangible examples. So let’s ground this with some practical examples.

The foundation of my business is helping my clients get clear on their vision and values and make decisions that are aligned with that compass.

This is the foundation I work from regardless of the “presenting issue.”

Here are a few examples that show why helping clients articulate their vision is so crucial.

Real Estate Broker

In my role as a real estate broker, my clients come to me for help in their process of buying, selling, or leasing a home. Many real estate agents begin the process with a conversation about the market, money, timing needs, or criteria.

All of these topics are important to discuss with a potential buyer or seller — eventually. None of them are relevant without first having the bigger-picture context of the client’s vision. I first help my clients articulate and clarify their vision, not just for their home, but also the life that happens within and outside their home.

I want to get a clear picture of where she is headed and how she sees herself using her home, as well as what other priorities she has in her life.

Understanding her vision helps me identify options that are aligned with that vision, even if they don’t appear to check the boxes on her “wish list.” It also helps me identify whether buying or selling is actually in alignment with that vision. Sometimes, it’s not. In that case, it’s my job to help my client reach awareness that there is a different way to get what she really wants.

For example, maybe a client comes with the belief that she wants to buy a new apartment, but what she really needs is a change in her career.

Or maybe a new apartment is aligned for her, but she initially describes criteria that I discover reflect the vision of her parents and what they want for her.

Helping my clients see their vision and make the choices that are aligned with their visions helps them save a lot of money and heartache.

If you’re thinking that this doesn’t sound like any real estate agent you know, well… I hear that a lot. 🙂

My view of the “job” of a real estate agent is quite different from how most people see it.

To me, the role of a real estate agent is not to “sell” my clients a home. Rather, it is to serve my clients’ highest interests,not their immediate impulses, by helping them see their visions and take action aligned with their visions.

In fact, that view of what I do lies at the foundation for my vision and was instrumental to how I evolved my business.

Business Coach

In another one of my “roles,” I coach real estate agents and other service-based professionals. Those clients may come with a presenting issue related to marketing strategy or business growth, or “work-life balance.” There too, the first topic we discuss is vision, not just for their business but also for their life.

There are many different ways to grow and run a business. The right strategy for you in your business depends on your vision.

Personal Trainer

A personal trainer needs an understanding of a client’s vision for her body and the types of activities she wants to do in and out of the gym.

I lead a very active lifestyle that places a high functional demand on my body: a lot of time on my feet, walking city streets and running up and down subway steps carrying a bag on my back. It’s very different from the life I used to have as an attorney, when I sat at a desk all day.

In addition to my default daily activities I participate in sports that have specific demands: flying trapeze, trampoline, swimming, yoga.

The training my trainer designs for me probably looks very different from what he would design for someone who sits in an office all day.

In any area of life the systems, solutions, and tools that work best for someone depend on their vision for how they will implement them.

No matter what field you’re in, and what you offer your potential clients, the first conversation must be about vision. Unless you know their vision you can’t fully serve them.