Last month we talked about pitfalls in mission writing. Now let's tackle vision. I love writing vision statements because they are expansive, imaginative, vast, and visual. Let's jump right in with a definition of vision:
A Vision Statement:
Paints a vivid, inspirational picture of the long-term future aspiration
Is written concisely in the form of a single sentence
Articulates what "mission accomplished" looks like. Your desired, optimal future state (example: "No Kid Hungry" from Share our Strength)
Inspires us to reach for what could be
Launching your business for the next year or the next decade marks the beginning of a journey. Last month, we discussed mission setting as "dropping a pin" as a starting point. It's an essential first step that will direct everything along the way: your future destination and the route you take.
Vision is choosing our future destination. We can't jump in the car with Twizzlers and a road trip playlist (fka mixed tapes) before orienting ourselves around our beginning and ending points. Yogi said it best:
If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else. Yogi Berra
I have crafted many vision statements; for corporations, small businesses, non-profits, and individuals. In this post, I'll share two common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Mistake #1. Playing too small
When leaders want to refresh their vision, often they bring in their operating team to do the job. I love a strong operations team and have served on many. As a leader accountable for delivering results, it's challenging to ignore the bounds of reality, constraints, and gravity - to imagine a bold new utopia. The visions developed by operating teams are often limited, incremental, and precise - but not inspiring.
Channel your inner Don Draper
Advertisers and creative agencies are in the business of generating breakthrough, audacious ideas through brainstorms. As they refine their pitches, they often land somewhere shy of their bold idea with a brave but doable solution. They take a moonshot and are willing to adjust to accommodate reality.
If you are just beginning vision writing, channel your inner Don Draper and go bold first. Bring in a diverse group of 6-10 people, some of whom are unencumbered by day-to-day operations, and generate some wild ideas.
I like to use the "headlines of the future" game from Sunni Brown's book, Gamestorming. If you include a nice mix of people and perspectives, you’ll open up fresh thinking and generate inspiring vision statements.
To avoid playing small, begin with audacious ideas (you can dial back later) and include outsiders in your vision session.
Mistake #2. Assuming vision alone does the job
Big, bold visions are inspiring! But, hey, remember your operating team? The folks who are in it day after day running the organization? These intrepid leaders are wildly inspired by your bold vision and primed to get started. But they may not be sure how or where to begin.
Anyone who has taken a long hike - from the Appalachian Trail to Kilimanjaro - knows the importance of waypoints. Every year my family hikes the five-mile entrance to the Appalachian Trail to a place called Hike Inn. When my son was three years old, we promised lunch and jelly beans at the halfway mark. Clarifying this waypoint provided a tangible idea of what halfway would look like and motivated all of us to get started.
Your leadership team wants to know what a waypoint summit will look like - in as much detail as you can provide. Now is your chance to bring in precision and pragmatism.
In the past few years of building strategies, I've added an element I call aspiration. I ask leaders to choose a point in time (3-5 years out) to roughly describe how their organization got there and what it looks like.
Lessons from the trail
Waypoint aspirations from others:
One team aspired to double down in their current market and drive results by leveraging and sharing unique data they had been collecting for decades.
And another set an aspiration to double their team and revenue within five years. They overshot this aspiration and tripled over three years!
Avoid the pitfall of relying on your bold, audacious vision to do all the things. Articulate an aspiration: a clear waypoint along the journey to clarify precision and help your team get started.
Engage hearts AND minds
Vision setting is an exhilarating moment in your organization's life. It's a time to be imaginative, inspiring, and expansive, to picture an ideal world where your mission is accomplished. Capture and engage your team's hearts AND minds by pairing your inspiring vision narrative with an aspiration that clearly describes a waypoint along the journey.
What challenges or pitfalls have you experienced in creating Vision Statements? Let us know in the comments!
Next, I'll share three vision mistakes and how to avoid them. To be the first to know when it’s posted, follow me on all socials and join my newsletter list. See you then!