Leadership Philosophy and Business Vision - Coursework Example

Business vision Introduction Leadership can be defined from different perspectives. From the management point of view, it is defined as the art or ability of an individual to lead others for achieving a certain result, which otherwise would not be feasible. Leadership can be observed in various forms and at different places. There are a number of traits exhibited by good leaders such as, self-awareness, self-defined direction, vision, motivational ability and social awareness. According to John Maxwell (1993), there are ten principles of leadership. These principles include creating positive influence, developing right priorities, integrity, creating positive change, problem solving, right attitude, developing people, vision, self-discipline and team building. All these aspects are very important in respect of a comprehensive approach to leadership. However, one of the most important qualities of a leader is to have a vision. A vision is a clear image or idea about the aspirations of a leader. A vision comprises a set of specifically defined objectives that an individual or a firm aims to achieve, along with ways to achieve the same. Vision can also be defined as a picture of the future, where a leader defines the aspirations, develops plans for achieving the same and predicts future changes related to the venture. Maxwell explained that vision is developed by combining the past, present and future ideas. An individual is able to learn different lessons from past experiences, which act as cornerstone for vision development. The present helps an individual in determining resources that he/she would require while giving a physical shape to the vision. The future enables development of the bigger picture of a particular idea conceived in an individual’s mind. The paper is a self-reflective essay about a particular vision of the author and the various measures to be adopted for giving physical shape to the vision. Description of my vision Vision Personal health is an asset for every individual. Yet, with increasing complexity in the surrounding environment, most of us are unable to enjoy a healthy life. One of the important aspects of maintaining health is food. Our food consumption behavior is reflected on our health. For instance, high consumption of fast food results in obesity, while excessive dieting causes malnutrition and related diseases. Most individuals want to eat healthy food, but hate to compromise on requirements of the taste buds. Consequently, taste gets more preference over health. The above situation is common for almost every individual and considering the same, my vision is to create a catering service that will serve food that is tasty as well as healthy. The food product of my catering service will be highly customized in nature. Apart from the basic healthy food products, individuals will be served with their choice of eatables without compromising on nutritional factors. My mission and vision is to start a cafe that caters to the taste buds as well as enhances health of individuals. In addition, my aim is to not only establish one cafe, but a chain of cafes that will be a synonym of health in terms of activities and objectives. The vision is mainly related to my near ones, that is, my family and friends. The main reason to set up the venture was an observation made. I noticed that my family does not eat outside because of being extremely health conscious, while my friends fail to meet their daily nutrition requirement level as work and other activities compel them to depend more on fast foods. My business will involve one of my family members and two friends, apart from other recruits under my administration (John Maxwell, 1993, 155-156). Development of environment based on the vision It is important to access the environmental components for developing an appropriate environment for the business vision. The most energetic or enthusiastic factor about the business idea is that it is a very innovative concept to serve customized health supplements in food and beverages to the consumers. In this business proposition, I expect complete support from my family and friends. The primary reason is that the business will create a welfare system in the society and secondly, it is a highly creative idea that has a number of potential opportunities associated. The vision, which is basically an idea, will be shaped into a cafe that will be run and managed by my family members and friends. Another attractive aspect of this proposal is that of consumer satisfaction. In my opinion, appreciation for creativity always stimulates enthusiasm. Thus, for the services to meet or exceed consumer expectations, admiration of the consumers will act as a source of motivation for the business members (John Maxwell, 1993, 155-156). Source of inspiration for the vision My primary source of motivation and inspiration is my parents, who have always encouraged me to follow my passion. I have always been fascinated by entrepreneurial as well as creative activities. As a result, the vision itself is a source of motivation. As I had studied the market as a part of my market research, it came to my notice that despite presence of numerous cafes, restaurants and bistros that have the essence of innovation in them, none are serving products similar to that in my vision. Additionally, when I presented the idea to my friends, they had supported me. They suggested that it is a completely new avenue that may present me with a variety of new business opportunity (John Maxwell, 1993, 155-156). Broad picture of the vision A vision can be appropriately defined only when the outcomes are projected from a long-term perspective. As per my market research, the competition for the products to be offered is extremely less. This discretion is expected to help the business gain market share rapidly. Maxwell stresses upon sustainability. He advocates that despite initial minor successes, the product must serve long-term purposes. Every vision should be bound by a certain timeframe. In my project, I expect that in next five years, the company will be able to compete against various restaurant chains in terms of revenue, performance and geographical expansion and will be the first preference for most consumers, especially that of the health conscious ones. The core values of the business will be consumer as well as employee satisfaction and as a leader, I will be responsible for ensuring the same. The main purpose of my vision is to add value to activities conducted and in a broader sense, to the society. These thoughts will be reflected in various business objectives of my venture (John Maxwell, 1993, 155-156). Business story based upon the essence of my vision My vision is to serve the health needs of different individuals without compromising on the taste factor. Hence, the business venture is that of a cafe that will serve consumers with customized food and drinks, which are highly nutritious. The cafe will be the first of its kind. This is because unlike other cafes and restaurants, the business will have a research and development department, where continuous research will be conducted on food and beverages for enhancing the taste without compromising on nutritional factors. My long-term vision includes creating a chain of such cafes across the city and subsequently, across the country so as to serve consumers on a mass scale. The business will be run and managed by my parents owing to their business experience and two of my friends who have undertaken the courses of nutrition and diets. Apart from them, two well-qualified chefs, an accountant and four interns pursuing courses on nutrition will be recruited for kitchen management, accounts management and research and development respectively. Given the vision and creativity in the business, it is anticipated that my business will be able to gain a major market share and recognition in the food industry within five years. References John Maxwell, Developing the leader within you (Scotland: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1993), 155-156. Read More