Eyes on the prize

Last month, I was invited to a “Vision Board” party. We were told to bring magazines and newspapers and would spend time cutting out images that we liked or that inspired us. The exercise was a powerful way to not only personally reflect on preferences and passion, but also share that with other people.

Recently, I read about the power of Big Picture Thinking and (to use a fancy verb) visioning (thanks, Ryan Smerek!). Professionally, there is a lot of emphasis on a company’s strategic plan—tactically, how will you beat out the competition? On an individual level at a corporation, employees are generally told to write goals (short term and long term).

What would happen instead if we were to first write a vision statement and write tactical goals aligned to that vision?

I’ve learned that spending time to add detail to a vision helps add certainty and passion to decisions you make about your future.