6 Rules for Great Visions

I visited an organization which had the vision posted on the walls. Since visions give direction to the organization, I decided to ask some of the employees about their vision. What I learned was surprising!

First, I learned that although the vision was predominantly featured throughout the building, few employees knew the vision without reading it.

Second, when I asked how the vision was being implemented most people looked at me like I was crazy. They did not know how or if the vision was being executed. It was as if the vision was only there for decoration and not for following.

If I visited your office, would I get similar responses from your employees?

Here are the 6 rules for great visions:

1. Short – Your vision should be short. Two sentences maximum. You can expand upon your vision in your plan, but the vision itself needs to be memorisable & memorable.

2. Specific – Your vision should be specific to your business. It should not be something that everyone else could adopt.

3. Clear – Your vision should use words that are easy to understand. You don’t want words that could be misinterpreted.

4. Simple – Your vision should be understood by both your employees and people outside the organization. Do not use buzz-words or technical jargon.

5. Ambitious – Your vision should be a stretch, but a realistic one. It should also be written so that people can take action to follow it.

6. Aligned – Your vision should align with the organization’s values.

If your vision doesn’t follow these 6 rules you’ll end up with some nice words on the wall that don’t mean much to anyone.

If you want your organization to be energized to move forward, then write a better vision!

Want help writing a better vision?

Contact me: Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com