Developing a Vision

Creating a vision ties the organization together by creating an endpoint, or common unity, that directs everyone to the same goal.  The vision is one of the organizational elements that is applied in the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), and also the final Critical Success Factor.  Defining a vision should be of first priority to any organization, because it is vital to know where the organization’s destination is before it takes its first step. By having a common vision the organization will be better able to fully utilize all of their resources.

All organization's should know where they want to arrive

There are two basic processes that I have used to create a vision: the Appreciate Inquiry process developed by Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management and the Self-Projection process developed by P I C A R E S Q U E.org.

Appreciative Inquiry Vision Process:

1. 1. Collect Positive Experiences
2. 2. Draft a Vision
3. 3. Compare Vision & Positive Experiences
4. 4. Review & Finalize

Collect Positive Experiences

Gather stories of positive experiences about the organization from as many stakeholders as possible.  These stories should be from any and all parts of the interactions between the organization and its stakeholders.

Draft a Vision

Keep in mind the positive experiences and write a few sentences or phrases that describe a reality in which all of the experiences were happening in the same day.

Compare Vision & Positive Experiences

Go through each of the positive experiences and make sure that it is encompassed within the Vision.  If it is not reword or add the sentences or phrases until they encompass every positive experience.

Review & Finalize

Review the Vision with as many stakeholders as possible and revise until the vision can be finalized.  The final vision should be encompassing yet as concise as possible.

The Appreciative Inquiry process is only four steps but often takes a long time.  Although it is time consuming it is often worthwhile to ask for multiple positive experiences from each stakeholder ensure the vision encompasses all aspects of the organization.  By incorporating positive experiences from all stakeholders this will help create ownership of the vision among the stakeholders and should keep them invested for years to come.

Self-Projection Vision Process:

1. 1. Project Ideal Experiences
2. 2. Draft a Vision
3. 3. Compare Vision and Ideal Experiences
4. 4. Review

Gather Ideal Experiences

Ask stakeholders what ideal interactions would be between the stakeholder and the organization if it was perfect in five years.

Draft a Vision

Keep in mind the ideal experiences and write a few sentences or phrases that describe a reality in which all of the experiences were happening in the same day.

Compare Vision & Positive Experiences

Go through each of the ideal experiences and make sure that it is encompassed within the Vision.  If it is not reword or add the sentences or phrases until they encompass every positive experience.

Review & Finalize

Review the Vision with as many stakeholders as possible and revise until the vision can be finalized.  The final vision should be encompassing yet as concise as possible.

The Self-Projection process is very similar to the Appreciative Inquiry Process.  The only difference is that you collect future ideal experiences instead of past experiences.  The Appreciative Inquiry process is more concrete and realistic on the current reality of the organization.  However, the Self-Projection Vision Process is great for new organizations when they don’t have a lot of history within their organization for Appreciative Inquiry.  If time allows combining both the Appreciate Inquiry and the Self-Projection vision processes.  This would result in a more comprehensive vision because it would incorporate both past experiences and future ideal states into the vision.

Developing your Vision is defining where your organization will be headed for the next five years, and will direct all stakeholders in every action of the organization.  The vision should be reviewed often to maintain organizational unity.  It should also be rewritten after 5 years or whenever a vision is realized.  The vision should be rewritten to set a newer, bigger and better destination for the future of the organization.