The First Key Word About Your Vision: Attractive
"There is no more powerful engine driving an organization toward excellence and long-range success than an attractive, worthwhile, and achievable vision of the future, widely shared."
Burt Nanus, in his great book "Visionary Leadership," says that to be the most powerful force driving an organization toward excellence and long-range success, a vision of the organization's future must be: attractive, worthwhile, achievable, and widely shared. Let's explore why these words are so important.
About "attractive:' Now you may say that it is obvious that an organization's vision of the future must be attractive. But there may be more to this than you see at first. Certainly the vision must be attractive for it to motivate your people. It must portray your organization in a future that is pleasant to contemplate. You and everyone in the organization must desire it to come true, because being a part of it will make everyone feel proud to be a part of making it happen. It must be attractive at every level. If any person feels that the future will not be good for them, your vision certainly will not motivate them. One of the powerful aspects of an honest and attractive vision is that it will help you and your managers consider the possible and probable contributions at even the lowest level of your organization. Have you some people who will not be challenged and inspired by your vision? Should not your vision help you identify them?
Also, your vision must be attractive to your market. Indeed, it should define and identify the market you shall serve in the future. Your vision should make it plain that you understand the needs you can serve, and how you shall serve those needs (and those people.)
Finally, if your vision shows why it will be successful, thus pleasing your people, and why it will attract customers or clients or patrons, it will also attract people who will want to share it with you as investors. That is what a good organization does.
This indicates why you must think through your vision of the future before you write a business plan!
Next: what's so important about "worthwhile?"
Burt Nanus, in his great book "Visionary Leadership," says that to be the most powerful force driving an organization toward excellence and long-range success, a vision of the organization's future must be: attractive, worthwhile, achievable, and widely shared. Let's explore why these words are so important.
About "attractive:' Now you may say that it is obvious that an organization's vision of the future must be attractive. But there may be more to this than you see at first. Certainly the vision must be attractive for it to motivate your people. It must portray your organization in a future that is pleasant to contemplate. You and everyone in the organization must desire it to come true, because being a part of it will make everyone feel proud to be a part of making it happen. It must be attractive at every level. If any person feels that the future will not be good for them, your vision certainly will not motivate them. One of the powerful aspects of an honest and attractive vision is that it will help you and your managers consider the possible and probable contributions at even the lowest level of your organization. Have you some people who will not be challenged and inspired by your vision? Should not your vision help you identify them?
Also, your vision must be attractive to your market. Indeed, it should define and identify the market you shall serve in the future. Your vision should make it plain that you understand the needs you can serve, and how you shall serve those needs (and those people.)
Finally, if your vision shows why it will be successful, thus pleasing your people, and why it will attract customers or clients or patrons, it will also attract people who will want to share it with you as investors. That is what a good organization does.
This indicates why you must think through your vision of the future before you write a business plan!
Next: what's so important about "worthwhile?"
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