Do you know where you are heading? What will it feel like when you get there? What does your success look like? Can you clearly visualise this? And can you clearly articulate it?
It is most certainly true that it is the journey and not necessarily the destination that reaps the most reward, brings the most fulfilment and is where the bulk of the satisfaction sits.
That said a journey with no destination is probably aimless wandering. While I’m not saying there is no value in this - in fact there can be great benefit - I am saying that if you’re trying to build a business or trying to turn a dream into reality then that approach probably isn’t going to work. You need to fully understand the destination you’re heading towards. It is that understanding that will allow you to build your path and put in place all the things you’ll need to get you there. Without a full and clear understanding of the destination the path will very likely be unclear, misguided and the tools you need inappropriate. This destination is your “Vision”.
Let’s take a moment and look at a few examples of “Vision statements” belonging to some who have tried to clearly articulate their vision:
A just world without poverty
Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis
To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.
To be more famous than Persil Automatic
Any guesses who these may belong to ?
As you can see these are short - some very short - but they give a very clear indication of the vision, destination or desired outcome of the journey. They also help to focus what the organisation or person is all about and they inform the plans, activities and actions required to move them towards their respective destinations.
These examples, as you can see, range from very simple to the more detailed, from the corporate to the very personal and from the clearly attainable to the aspirational. They are all nevertheless relevant to the person or organisation concerned and in each case are clear and fairly unambiguous.
The examples belong to Oxfam, Patagonia, Oprah Winfrey and Victoria Beckham (the last was a quote rather than a specific vision statement but it still fits the bill and I’ll leave whether or not she’s reached her “vision” with you).
Did you get them all?
In short how can you know how to get there if you don’t fully understand where “there” is?
I have experienced and read about very large organisations who have dived headlong into planning or “doing”, spending vast sums of money and time, without ever stopping to fully understand where they are going. Invariably it doesn’t end well. I’m sure you’ve read about others and I’m equally sure you’ll be aware of other less obvious examples closer to home.
You are not going to make that mistake.
Over the next week spend some quality time thinking about your own vision. Take a step into the future. Where are you heading? What does it look like? What will it feel like when you get there? Don't hamper these wonderful thoughts with how you'll get there - we can deal with that later. Instead fully immerse yourself in the art of the possible, your dreams, your vision.
So how do we help you understand and subsequently articulate your vision?
We will cover that next week.
Let us know your thoughts and questions.
Take care and stay safe
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