In my article "creating your Vision" I discussed creating your company's or group's vision and gave a methodology to create a vision that works and generates results. Many of you probably read the article and thought 'all the visions I have been involved in have made absolutely no difference to me or my company ' so what is the point?' I was going to discuss mission in this Article but given the question above I thought I would delve a little more into visions and why they are necessary and what makes them successful.
So what does make a vision successful? Everyday companies try to create a vision that will lead them into the future but seldom does that vision ever impact the organization. The reason for this is that the vision is created by a few and never becomes a 'shared vision' of the entire organization.
Peter Senge, in his book 'The Fifth Discipline' describes a shared vision as '' a force in people's hearts, a force of impressive power'.At its simplest level, a shared vision is the answer to the question, 'What do we want to create?' ' A shared vision is a picture that everyone in the company carries in their heads and hearts.
So what does a shared vision do for your company? It converts the company into 'our company'. It creates a sense of commonality and gives coherence to diverse activities. It creates excitement and makes an extraordinary company. It allows everyone to work together. It creates a common identity and a sense of purpose. It encourages new ways of thinking and acting. It gives courage and fosters risk taking and experimentation. Basically without a shared vision, that vision you spent time creating is pointless and meaningless. And without a shared vision the learning organization cannot exist.
What is a learning organization? If you have read my other article on the "7 steps to creating your annual plan" you will remember that part of planning your company's growth is to celebrate your successes, learn from your failures and create a new paradigm. These activities are part of a learning organization, one that continually learns and improves. A learning organization is one that learns faster than its competition, one that taps the knowledge of the entire organization and does not only rely on the top person.
Imagine trying to learn from your failures if you are not part of a learning organization. Instead of learning people will pass blame, try to hide or ignore their failures and in the end the entire company suffers. In a learning organization a failure is seen as a chance to learn and then possibly shift your paradigm towards how things could be done.
With a shared vision everyone has a common destination and a common picture. They then work together as a team, supporting and encouraging each other. There is no competition between people, therefore there is no need to pass blame or hide your failures. You may think that this all sounds wonderful but will never happen, but it actually does happen. To create this collaborative environment you need:
' a committed team leader ' one who encourages openness, gets rid of office politics and listens to the team.
' a facilitator to help learn this new way of acting. One workshop is not going to change behavior. Change takes time and practice.
' a willingness to change, to examine what doesn't work and accept a new paradigm if necessary.
' a structured process to lead the team.
One of the reasons we support and offer the Best Year Yet team program (http://www.bestyearyet.com) is that it provides a structured process to create a learning team which can over time be grown into a learning organization. By creating a collaborative team it is amazing what the team can achieve. That is why you can see results in both your team members and in the bottom line of your company. Read more about the benefits companies have achieved by using BYY on their website.
Happy planning
About the author: Graeme Nichol of Arcturus Advisors has worked on 4 continents and in 37 countries assisting businesses large and small get what they want out of their businesses. Please visit his website at www.arcturusadvisors.com. Arcturus Advisors works with business teams to close the gap between what they plan and what they got. "Ensuring team members are all on the same page and pulling in the same direction."