We’ve all seen the successes of business owners and executives who have followed their dreams with passion and worked single-mindedly to achieve their goals.

Yet some business leaders get so caught up in the day-to-day running of their businesses that they lose their passion, their sight of their all-important vision, and become more ‘operational’ than ‘inspirational’. They spend too much time ‘doing’ and not ‘thinking’ about why and how they’re doing it, and only focusing on short term goals. Worst of all, some businesses are made up of people who each have a different view of the company’s vision and therefore work towards conflicting goals. The result is that their business stays the same year after year with little growth or, worse, starts to decline.

A business without a clear, inspirational vision of the future is like a boat without a rudder; there’s a good chance that outside forces will take your business where you don’t want it to go.

If you are in this boat, the impending new year is a perfect time for you to consider what you want your business to become and create a concrete vision that can help bring direction and passion back into your business. After all, passion is what creates the momentum to accomplish your best work.

Although a good, practical vision needs to be specific so that everyone can picture it, you need to start by letting your imagination go. Think about what your business has the potential to accomplish. Include aspects that will be challenging and exciting. What will it look like? What kind of customers will you attract? How much revenue will you earn? How will you be different from your competitors?

Once you create your vision, share it amongst your people and always keep it firmly in everyone’s minds as the basis for all decisions and actions. It may well be refined down the track as you develop and adapt to market forces, but keeping your vision top of mind will create the focus and conviction to transform your business and achieve its inherent value.