Develop Your Vision

"A Buddhist monk once said, 'When you wash dishes, wash dishes.' At first the monk's zen-like thought seemed obvious to me, of no particular value, but upon reflection it began to make more sense. Eventually, I translated it into a phrase that had great significance: 'When in charge, be in charge.' And being in charge means that you must create the future." Gordon Sullivan, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (retired)

You may have a general notion of where you would like your organization to go, but to craft a vision, take the following steps to ensure as much buy-in from stakeholders as possible.

Consider first the shared values and ideals of the organization. You won't get very far if you don't adhere to the basic beliefs of the group. Retain whatever is still useful and valuable from the former vision and mission. You don't always have to throw out the entire past to move forward.

Discuss your ideas with various stakeholders. Talk to your superiors and subordinates, and use lateral networking to get valuable information, input, an dearly support across various functions and departments. Find out what they want and need, and, most importantly, how they react to your vision.

Make sure that all perspectives are represented. Failure to listen to a powerful group or voice can result in problems later on. For example, certain stakeholders may be unwilling to support you at a critical juncture. if you don't incorporate the opinion of an important group, your vision may not address all relevant organizational needs.

Use the results of your research wisely. Incorporate what you learned to define a vision that is both realistic and focused. An effective vision is achievable. Even if it is ambitious, you, your team, and your stakeholders need to be imagining the same set of outcomes.

Ask your team to provide reality checks to help clarify the vision. Listen to those closed to you. Remain flexible. You may have to keep reassessing and revising your vision until it's right.

Clearly define the vision's benefits to all involved. Determine the benefits not only to your unit, but to the broader organization--employees, stakeholders, and customers alike. If these stakeholders know "what's in it for me," they'll be more likely to embrace the vision and offer assistance when asked.

ACTION POINT: Think in terms of satisfying deep human needs. People want to achieve; they want to feel that they belong; they want to have self-esteem and a feeling of control over their lives. If your vision helps to satisfy these needs, you will have plenty of support.

Divine Indwelling

God lives in us... 1 John 4:12

The start, middle, and end of the spiritual journey is the conviction that God is always present. As we progress in this journey, we perceive God's presence more and more. As we emerge from childhood into full, reflective, self-consciousness, our concept of how God is present in us is usually vague and primitive. The spiritual journey is a gradual process of enlarging our emotional, mental, and physical relationship with the divine reality that is present in us but not ordinarily accessible to our emotions or concepts... The fundamental theological principle of the spiritual journey is the Divine Indwelling. The Trinity is present within us as the source of our being on every level.

1 John 4:12
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Independence Day

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
- Harry S. Truman

“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are crated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…" The Declaration of Independence 1776

“And this idea that the government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except the sovereign people, is still the newest and the most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. … This is the issue, …whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. … You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.” Ronald Reagan, 1964

"It is time for us to realize that we're too great a nation to limit ourselves to small dreams. We're not, as some would have us believe, doomed to an inevitable decline. I do not believe in a fate that will fall on us no matter what we do. I do believe in a fate that will fall on us if we do nothing. So with all the creative energy of our command, let us begin an era of national renewal. Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength. And let us renew our faith and hope." Ronald Reagan 1981

ACTION POINT: Celebrate the birthday of this great and amazing country. Happy Birthday America!!!

Vision - Clearly stated and Empowering

"When the road ahead is unclear, vision can take you only so far." Loren Gary

A vision provides a clear picture of a better future. it offers trust, faith, and hope for everyone in the organization. it becomes a guide for an organization to move from past beliefs, activities, and goals to a future path more suited to the changing needs of the organization and the demands of the economic environment.

A vision should be:

simple and idealistic. It should appeal to core values of the organization.

challenging but realistic. It's fine for the vision to have lofty language--you want it to be large enough to touch people;s core needs for achievement, recognition, and a sense of belonging. But the lofty language has to be easily translated into a realistic competitive strategy. The goals can be aggressive, but they must also be achievable.

focused. It should serve as a guide in decision making

beneficial for the organizations stakeholders--customers, stockholders, and employees. It should clearly define the benefits to these various constituencies.

easy to explain and understand. Even if implementing the vision is a complicated process, explaining it should be simple. People won't support what they can't understand.

ACTION POINT: Consider the simplicity, ideals, challenges, focus, benefits and clarity of your vision.

How to Craft a Vision

...vision doesn't need to be brilliant or innovative

A vision is a mind-picture of your hoped-for end result: what it will look like, how it will function, what it will produce, and how things will be changed by it. A simple, clear, and enduring vision of a better future is a leader's most important motivational tool; you'll refer to it time and again, explaining its benefits and relevance to various audiences as you work to keep them on board. The result of broad-based strategic thinking about the company's most key constituencies and a willingness to take calculated risks, a vision doesn't need to be brilliant or innovative. In fact, some of the best can seem mundane.

In the professional world, the word vision has been confused with other important concepts, such as mission statement, strategic objective, or slogans. But a vision, though related to these other concepts, over arches them and gives them meaning.

ACTION POINT: Picture your desired result when crafting a vision.