p.1 In striving for the easy one-liner, too many organizations fail
to fulfill the central purpose of a Vision, which is to provide direction. It’s like finding a treasure map with nothing
more than an “X” on it. As exciting as the prospect of buried treasure may be, the map, absent the specificity
of landmarks and a sense of relationship, is just a useless scrap of paper. It is not enough to say “take the hill.”
People need to know which hill. There are, after all, many hills out there. And they need to know why this hill is worth taking.
p.1 The specificity of the Vision clarifies not only what the organization
will do, but also what it will not do. It serves as a screen that allows individuals at all levels to sort the to-dos
from the not-to-dos.
p.1 A clear Vision becomes more important in a turbulent and uncertain
environment... The Vision provides a point of reference in the face of uncertainty. It is like a lighthouse in this regard.
When the fog is thick, the wind is blowing and the waves are crashing, it’s helpful to have a bright light to steer
against. A Vision is a goal. It is the highest-level goal in the organization’s hierarchy of goals.
It is the goal that harnesses the others and steers them toward some shared end.
p.2 What does a powerful Vision look like? Henry Ford’s Vision
for his car company remains one of the best ever:
"I will build a motorcar for the great
multitude....constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern
engineering can devise. It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one
and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces.... When I’m through, everybody
will be able to afford one, and everyone will have one. The horse will have disappeared from our highways, the automobile
will be taken for granted ... [and we will] give a large number of men employment at good wages."
Work through the checklist. Is it specific? Clear? Plain English?
Compelling? Directional? The Value Proposition is there, too (“the simplest designs”) along with a Strategic
Intent (“no man making a good salary will be unable to own one”). It’s all there. That Vision carried
Ford a long way.
