And now for something a little different, y’all.

Kay Plantes asked me if I would be willing to post the following article because she felt it was “a story that needed telling”. I have to admit, it’s a pretty good account of how the power of vision can make all the difference to the tale of success. And, in an amazing display of serendipity, it also happens to fit neatly into our What I Learned From Limits groupwrite project this month! Way to go, Kay!

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Seeking: College-town of 20,000+ college students, with 10,000+ year-round residents, active nightlife and eclectic cultural tastes to locate a unique pizza restaurant

Ian Gurfield, an Amherst University college student, created this vision statement during an academic semester in Italy. Following a post-graduation cross-country trip through America’s college towns, he chose Madison, opening Frances Street Ian’s in the heart of UW’s nightlife.

Ten years later Gurfield owns multiple Madison businesses, his vision far more sophisticated, evolving due to his curiosity, willingness to experiment and tenacity. Admirably, he’s held “not knowing” until the right answers emerged.

Gurfield opened a second Ian’s on State Street to retain an ambitious business partner and capture traffic at Madison’s Capitol Square.  He discovered the challenges of multiple businesses and that a winning location is necessary but not sufficient.  By expanding the space to offer eat-in dining, Gurfield found success.  A restaurant on Chicago’s Clark Street also joined the mix.

Ian’s also grew synergistically using new products.  A local, organic frozen yogurt recently joined salads and brownies on the menus.  A staging kitchen will soon open on Willy Street, relieving stores of ingredient preparation. To speed financial payback, the kitchen will run a retail bakery modeled after Portland, Maine’s Standard Bakery.

Through all this, Gurfield struggled with Ian’s longer-term vision. Growth for the sake of growth wasn’t important, but retaining talent is, and that requires growth.  Furthermore, according to Gurfield, “Franchising wouldn’t work as we’d lose the local-owner-as-manager climate critical to creating Ian’s unique taste and experience.”

Ian’s recently completed 2020 Vision is a best-practice example of visioning for a number of reasons. The vision:

• Is specific and unique—not the generic statements so many leaders settle for.  For example, by 2020 Ian’s will have created 16 businesses, with at least 10 retail pizza restaurants, and in at least two geographic areas. A central entity, Ian’s Soul Central, will establish best practices across sites and offer marketing, financial and management services. An internal investment bank (open to employee investment) will fund expansion.
• Is inspiring—capturing what matters most (such as sustainability and good jobs) to the people who will transform reality into vision.
• Is strategic—setting a direction, not merely elusive goals. Gurfield’s vision work solved how Ian’s will grow while still retaining the individual identity and entrepreneurship vital to any one location’s success. Ian’s will be a federation of independently owned companies (at least two per city) that share knowledge and central services to help entrepreneurs overcome an otherwise lonely, challenging journey. Ian’s Soul Central will also convene a board of managing partners, each overseeing a city’s individual operator-owner companies, like State Street Ian’s Pizza that Lexy Frautschy now fully owns.
• Stretches from today. Ian’s hiring and training practices will be recognized nationally, for example.
• Yet, is rooted in the company’s DNA. Ian’s will always focus on exceptional ingredients, expertly prepared – “A business with pizzazz, not pizza” – and a rewarding environment for team players, all Gurfield core values.
• Clarifies what’s in and out. After completing the vision work, Gurfield learned that an associate’s father had unused organic farmland. Immediately he saw a fit, given Ian’s commitment to sustainable business practices and starting new businesses. Yet another federation member is born.

What does your vision statement say about your organization? If it reflects a “check the box, did that” activity, start again.  Defining your vision is at the heart of thinking and leading strategically.

Kay Plantes helps business leaders make better strategy decisions, faster. Her 20-year old firm, Plantes Company, LLC works with leaders to redefine their organization’s business model to secure higher profits and growth. The MIT-trained economist writes a weekly blog on business model innovation, http://www.plantescompany.com/blog and is author of Beyond Price: Differentiate Your Business in Ways that Really Matter (Greenleaf Bookgroup, 2009) http://www.beyondpricebook.com

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