Design a Better Business

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YOUR VISION OF THE FUTURE

The first thing most people do when they here the word “vision” in a business context is yawn. That’s because most visions are vague, unclear, and, frankly, nothing to get excited about. Well-designed visions should be rallying cries for action, invention, and innovation.

VISION AS YOUR COMPASS

When you’ve formulated your point of view with an eye toward the future, it’s the vision that will guide you and your team toward the North Star. A clear vision brings focus and provides an anchor point for making bold strategic choices. It drives the search for new business models. As a rallying cry, a clear and compelling vision provides direction in everything you and your colleagues do. Ask each other this question every day: Does this action, activity, experiment, project get us closer to realizing our vision? If the answer is no, then don’t waste time, energy, and money on it. A vision is a compass that ensures your people and teams work on those things that matter to customers, clients, and other stakeholders. It will inspire, engage, and activate people so they are able to do a better job.

A VISION IS NOT A VISION STATEMENT

A vision statement is the headline to a much richer story about your future. It is an anchor for the bigger story. While a vision statement is an aspirational description of what your team (or organization) would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid- or long-term future, to be truly useful (and powerful), a vision statement ...