June 2009 - Imagine a Vision and Make it Real

They have a vision!

Make it real

Steps to translate the vision

Implications when raising customer expectations

Putting it all together

Resources (links, books, articles, the lighter side)

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Imagine a Vision and Make it Real

By Baldwin Tom

They have a vision!

When Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak created their first Apple computers, they imagined that there would be an Apple computer in every home. That was an audacious picture of a future vision! Their mission, thereafter, was to make that vision a reality.

Bill Gates envisioned Microsoft dominating the world market. Microsoft continues to make that vision real.

A compelling vision is a powerful focal point to inspire efforts within an organization. A vision depicts a desired future for the organization. It becomes the super goal toward which the organization works as it carries out its mission. It is about what one wants to become, a lofty destination.

Successful leaders have a picture of a desired future – a vision – that they share with their employees. They use it to engage and to add meaning to daily work.

While having a vision can be a powerful tool to inspire extraordinary effort, it can also be a hollow statement if it is not shared with employees and, especially, if not acted on.

Make It Real

The balance of this article describes how to convert a vision to tangible actions for the organization’s personnel that becomes meaningful for the organization.

Imagine a customer reading the following vision tagline from a Website: "to be the first called when a business needs help."

The first thing that may come to the customer’s mind might be that this company (First Call) is a capable one, has good people and knows much about their areas. They must have breadth of knowledge and experiences, they must be smart and intelligent, and they are a confident firm. Being the first called also suggests that they may be a leader in their field with best practice capabilities.

What might the customer expect in a visit to First Call? The expectation might be that the personnel will be friendly, confident, informative, and responsive. The activity in the office will exude energy and imply a successful, quality oriented, customer centric business. The impression might be that this business has well defined processes, clear methods, and customer tested approaches.

What might the customer expect of First Call’s products and services? One might not be surprised to find that they are the best of class and of fair value. What about the governance and structure of such a stellar organization? There would be little doubt a visitor might expect the structure to support performance excellence, that there is recognition and rewards for a job well done.

Steps to Translate the Vision

The questions inherent in the above example are presented here together with commentary on this unique approach to make a vision real for everyone in an organization.

Impression?
Before ever setting foot into First Call’s offices, one develops impressions about the organization by what it presents in written or visual form. Imagine oneself as the customer and see what impression derives from the same vision. Depending on one’s point of view, the impression will differ. Nevertheless, this impression sets the stage for what else to expect.

Expectations?
With the impression formed — good or bad — one will set up expectations as to what will be found when visiting the business. In our customer example above, one might expect to sense energy in the firm. People would seem to move about with purpose. This First Call company better meet those high expectations or the customer will wonder about the credibility and product/service offerings from First Call.

Processes and Procedures?
The logical train of thought after ‘high expectations’ will be that the way things are done at First Call are undoubtedly efficient and effective. This includes the communications between the customer and the company. Are the contacts reflective of a ‘first to be called’ firm? The customer will expect exemplary interactions with the personnel of First Call.

Products and Services?
By the time the customer in our example comes face to face with the products and services, the best is now expected. One would expect seeing framed letters of commendation and recognition for their customer service focus.

Implications When Raising Customer Expectations

If one has a public vision statement and is unaware what the customer "sees" in their mind, then there will be a disconnect between what the customer expects and what First Call delivers. In order to be fully competitive in the marketplace, what is said and what is done needs to be coherent and fully aligned.

Processes may need to be improved or changed.
Products and services may need to be enhanced, changed, or repackaged in order to meet expectations.
Everyone at First Call needs to know what the customer expects.

When one compares what the customer expects and what is currently being provided, will there be gaps in delivering on the expectations?

Putting it all Together

Note that this exercise provides a way to consider what might be perceived as the ideal against what is the current state.

This process touches on every aspect of an organization and every member of the business. Such comparisons will help identify key gaps in product/service delivery at all stages of the creation process.

What is needed to close gaps between the desired state and the current one?

In order to make a vision real, it requires the participation and input from most — if not all — members of the company.

When this is done, every member of the company will fully appreciate the power of the vision made real. More important, each member will know better their contribution to the success of the organization.

About the author, Baldwin H. Tom, CMC^® Former instructor in Strategic Thinking and Planning for the United Way of America; Past National Chair of the Institute of Management Consultants USA, 2004-2006. Get free management downloads from www.tbgroupconsultants.com (under Publications).
©1999-2009. The Baldwin Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the author.

Internet Resources

Strategic Visioning Process http://www.makemark.com/graphic_facilitation/services/strategicvisioning.asp
The Spirit of the Visioning Process http://www.ninaspencer.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=ArticleDisplay&ArticleID=160&SectionID=59
Incorporating Visioning into Comprehensive Planning http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/G3752.pdf
Strategic Visioning Process Innovation Team Tool Kit http://studentaffairs.ucsc.edu/staff/visioning/docs/InnovationTeamToolkit.pdf
Creating A Vision http://www.theconsultingteam.com/Articles/creatingavision.htm
Women and the Vision Thing http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/01/women-and-the-vision-thing/ib
How to Overcome Anxiety Using Future Visioning http://www.wikihow.com/Overcome-Anxiety-Using-Future-Visioning
Grounded vision: Bring your team together
Visioning http://www.e-lead.org/resources/resources.asp?ResourceID=19
Organizational Visioning Pathways and Pitfalls http://www.managerwise.com/article.phtml?id=201
Plan Out Your 3-Year Vision for Attracting Clients (and The Life You Really Want) http://www.zeromillion.com/business/Attracting_Clients_and_The_Life_You_Really_Want.html
Visioning http://www.myarticlearchive.com/articles/5/032.htm
How to make a vision board http://christinekane.com/blog/how-to-make-a-vision-board/

Books - Disclosure: We get a small commission for purchases made via links to Amazon.

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Barack Obama. Vintage, July 2008. ISBN-10: 0307455874 ISBN-13: 978-0307455871
How to Re-imagine the World: A Pocket Guide for Practical Visionaries. Anthony Weston. New Society Publishers, October 2007. ISBN-10: 0865715947 ISBN-13: 978-0865715943
Cultivating the Strategic Mind: Growing From Leader to Visionary, Creator, and Architect of Strategy. Dr. Blake Leath. Allagi Publishing, 2007. ISBN-10: 0979883016 ISBN-13: 978-0979883019
Radicals & Visionaries: Entrepreneurs Who Revolutionized the 20th Century. Thaddeus Wawro. Entrepreneur Press, May2000. ISBN-10: 1891984136 ISBN-13: 978-1891984136
Visionaries: The 20th Century's 100 Most Inspirational Leaders. Satish Kumar (Editor), Freddie Whitefield (Editor). Chelsea Green Publishing, November 2008. ISBN-10: 1933392533 ISBN-13: 978-1933392530
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras. Collins Business, November 2004. ISBN-10: 0060566108 ISBN-13: 978-0060566104
The Plot to Save the Planet: How Visionary Entrepreneurs and Corporate Titans Are Creating Real Solutions to Global Warming. Brian Dumaine. Three Rivers Press, April 2009. ISBN-10: 0307406229 ISBN-13: 978-0307406224
The Power Path: The Shaman's Way to Success in Business and Life. Jose Stevens. New World Library, June 2002) ISBN: 1577312171 ISBN-13: 978-1577312178
Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership. Laurie Beth Jones. Hyperion, April 1996. ISBN-10: 0786881267 ISBN-13: 978-0786881260
Visionary Business: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Success. Marc Allen. New World Library, April 2009. ISBN-10: 1577316622 ISBN-13: 978-1577316626
You'll See It When You Believe It: The Way to Your Personal Transformation. Wayne W. Dyer. Harper Paperbacks, August 2001. ISBN-10: 0060937335 ISBN-13: 978-0060937331
Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao. Wayne W. Dyer. Hay House, January 2009. ISBN-10: 140191750X ISBN-13: 978-1401917500
The Celestine Vision: Living the New Spiritual Awareness. James Redfield. Grand Central Publishing, November 1999. ISBN-10: 0446675237 ISBN-13: 978-0446675239

Articles

The Lighter Side

Tunnel vision http://www.humorgazette.com/hg/2006/07/tunnel_vision.html
Ergonomics humor http://www.humanics-es.com/ergojokes.htm
Humor http://www.connexin.net/humor.html

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