Methodology

The Visioning Exercise is a comprehensive exercise, there are many approaches to Visioning planning but typically a three-step process may be used:

• Situation - evaluate the current situation and how it came about.
• Target - define goals and/or objectives (sometimes called ideal state)
• Path - map a possible route to the goals/objectives
• One alternative approach is called Draw-See-Think
• Draw - what is the ideal image or the desired end state?
• See - what is today's situation? What is the gap from ideal and why?
• Think - what specific actions must be taken to close the gap between today's situation and the ideal state?
• Plan - what resources are required to execute the activities?

We take you through the journey of imagining how you would like to see your company in the future. We take you through a series of questions, answers, debates and dialogues. We share best practices and ideas to enable the organization.

Key Deliverables

• Comprehensive discussions with the top management
• Defining the purpose of the organization.
• Laying down the road map for growth in the organization
• Objectives and goals of each unit
• Measures of success for the business
  

How does the end deliverable help your organization?

The right vision for an organization, one that is a realistic, credible, attractive future for that organization, can accomplish a number of things for the organization:

• It attracts commitment and energizes people. This is one of the primary reasons for having a vision for an organization: its motivational effect. When people can see that the organization is committed to a vision-and that entails more than just having a vision statement-it generates enthusiasm about the course the organization intends to follow, and increases the commitment of people to work toward achieving that vision.
• It creates meaning in workers' lives. A vision allows people to feel like they are part of a greater whole, and hence provides meaning for their work. The right vision will mean something to everyone in the organization if they can see how what they do contributes to that vision. Consider the difference between the hotel service worker who can only say, "I make beds and clean bathrooms," to the one who can also say, "I'm part of a team committed to becoming the worldwide leader in providing quality service to our hotel guests." The work is the same, but the context and meaning of the work is different.
• It establishes a standard of excellence. A vision serves a very important function in establishing a standard of excellence. In fact, a good vision is all about excellence. Tom Peters, the author of In Search of Excellence, talks about going into an organization where a number of problems existed. When he attempted to get the organization's leadership to address the problems, he got the defensive response, "But we're no worse than anyone else!" Peters cites this sarcastically as a great vision for an organization: "Acme Widgets: We're No Worse Than Anyone Else!" A vision so characterized by lack of a striving for excellence would not motivate or excite anyone about that organization. The standard of excellence also can serve as a continuing goal and stimulate quality improvement programs, as well as providing a measure of the worth of the organization.
• It bridges the present and the future. The right vision takes the organization out of the present, and focuses it on the future. It's easy to get caught up in the crises of the day, and to lose sight of where you were heading. A good vision can orient you on the future, and provide positive direction. The vision alone isn't enough to move you from the present to the future, however. That's where a strategic plan, discussed later in the chapter, comes in. A vision is the desired future state for the organization; the strategic plan is how to get from where you are now to where you want to be in the future.