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Strategic Vision

Visions are important. Throughout history the truly great societies have had firmly held visions of themselves which were largely responsible for their success. For example, last century the British really saw themselves as rulers of a Empire and so they were. Today the Americans see themselves as the protectors of the West, freedom and capital enterprise, and so they are. This power is available to you through our Vision Product.

Think of the Greeks and the Romans, could they have been as successful as they were without a clear mental image and a belief in themselves?

Martin Luther King taught the world that when the dream lives inside others, it lives forever. Members need to understand and own the goals or vision of the team. They must see how they can contribute to it. The vision should ideally be stretching but also believable and achievable. It should be worthwhile and "exciting to the newest recruit".

Winning sports teams are far better at this than business.

Today sports people are much better at visualisation than are organisations or societies. Sports people are trained to see themselves succeeding even before they start. Many businesses just assume that success will happen. Many of the most successful businesses have a clear vision of what they want to achieve years before they actually achieve it.

What is Vision

The vision is a picture of the organisation as it could be, significantly better than it is at present. Whereas the mission is a short statement in words the vision can be thought of more like a picture. This is why I have shown it as a tree. You can see the shape of the tree, you can smell the leaves and the flowers, you can feel the roughness. It's something you can imagine and therefore work towards.

The aim is to try to sense the total feeling, proportion, balance, appropriateness, like a rounded performance, the mood is all important. The context is important with all elements existing together in time. With this picture clearly in mind, it is easier to decide what needs to be done to help achieve the vision. As an analogy, think of how much easier it is to do a jigsaw puzzle once you have seen a picture of it completed.

Characteristics of Great Visions

• Paint a picture of what the organisation wants to achieve or be like
• Reflect a fire and passion from the people
• Identify those things that make us special or unique - they kindle the fire of pride
• Imaginative, have the "wow" factor, excite both the youngest recruit and the oldest server
• Recognise that no one may yet know how to achieve the vision
• Can be big and ugly and even frightening.

When to use Vision Statements

1. When managers and/or staff seem unclear why we are in business
2. When new products/services are being developed that are outside the core #Falling sales, profits, customers
3. When you constant get unpleasant surprises
4. When you find yourself lurching from crisis to crisis
5. If your environment has changed
6. If managers and staff have no common understanding of the Vision.

Probable outcomes of Vision

1. Far more focus on what really matters
2. Everyone working to the same agenda
3. People working hard on the focused core of the business rather
4. Fewer surprises
5. More collaboration and participation because everyone understands their role.

How Virtual Group supports Vision

1. We work with managers and staff to define the appropriate Vision
2. We work with managers and staff to introduce the required Vision
3. We support managers and staff who are having problems in adopting the new Vision
4. We help manages measure and rewards program behaviours the reflect the new Vision
5. We advise in the structural issues and organisational issues that arise with the introduction of Vision.

Product support

This product has been developed and is supported by Bruce Holland with help where required from other members of the Virtual Group. Bruce is a specialist in business strategy Wellington, nationally and internationally. He specialises in public sector strategy and other large private sector organisations.

Guarantee

All work undertaken by Bruce Holland is guaranteed. If at the end of the program the client doesn't feel that they have received value for money, they may adjust the bill and pay an amount equal to the value they feel they received.