Management Rules: 50 New Rules for Managers

CHAPTER 2

VISION: SETTING A DIRECTION

Should managers have visions? In the past, managers were mere ciphers between top management and workers: they carried orders down the chain of command and fed information back up. Managers now have to do more: they have to take control and make things happen. So you need a plan, but is that a vision?

Perhaps a vision is too grand. But your team definitely wants to know where they are going and how they are going to get there. You have to give them a sense of direction and purpose. You can do that by telling them a simple story about your direction:

• This is where we are
• This is where we are going
• This is how ...