This is one of those things that is so obvious, so much common sense, that we all know it and we have all known about it for a very long time - yet we still miss it without the right tools - but more on that in a moment.

First - let me share with you a little story that really brought this home for me. There was a joint oil refinery project, being built between the Americans and the Japanese. The Americans took one side of the refinery, and the Japanese would build the other. In just nine months, this would be the finest oil refinery in the world.

Day 1 - the Americans show up. They bring their earthmovers, they bring a huge crew of men and they get to work! Soon the dirt is flying, foundations are going in - this is real progress!! On the Japanese side - two men in a small pickup show up - take a few measurements and then drive off. By the end of the first month, the Americans were well along on their side - the foundations were all going in, they had frameworks being delivered - this would be no problem! Yet the Japanese had done nothing since day 1...

By month 4, the Americans were getting a little frustrated with their partners - after all, the shell of their side was almost completed, but the Japanese had not even dug the first trench on their side. How could they possibly complete the project in time - maybe the Americans should start doing the Japanese work to move the project forward?

Month six rolls around - the Americans are totally confident that everything is almost complete and on track. At last the small Japanese construction crew show up.

Here's what happened next... The Japanese trucks were full of pre-assembled equipment that went together perfectly and without drama. And because it was so nicely designed, they needed far fewer people than the Americans had - and it took far less time. On the American side - the whole of the remaining time was taken up in correcting problems and modifying equipment that was not quite right.

Now - this is not an "American versus Japanese" story - because I think we can all recognize ourselves on both sides of that story. But what were the Japanese doing all the time that the Americans were digging holes and building? They were getting clear on what they wanted to achieve and how they were going to do it. Then - when they did get into action, they had a cast-iron, simple plan that had already been thought through - so there were no surprises. But it all started from getting that clear vision of the goal.

And this - of course - is the step that so many of us try to gloss over. There are many potentially successful businesses out there - but you have got to step back, take a deep breath, and get really clear on why you want your own business, and what you hope to achieve from it. Once your objective is clear, then you will be unable to make decisions that do not move you towards that goal - if you are not clear, then you will make wrong decisions and spend far longer and work far harder than you should - and you may never get there!