By Alexa Divett
Do you have a vision statement for your business? Renowned business expert, Cameron Herold says to flush it down the toilet and replace it with your vivid vision.
He recommends going above and beyond the normal, boring vision statement, which is only a tiny slice of your company pie anyway, by creating a vivid vision that has the power to completely align your employees, team and vendors.
Ok sounds good right? So what the in the world is this? This is a multi-page document that, “starts when an entrepreneur, founder or CEO plants one foot in the present and then leans out and places the other in the future, the ‘what could be’.”
Herold specifically recommends a three-year framework, not a one-year or a five-year one.
Let’s start by looking at pro athletes (or anyone who has lost a massive amount of their body weight, gotten out of insane debt or completely changed their circumstances.) In most cases all of these people start with visualization.
Pro athletes probably get the power of visualization more than any other group. Often super successful athletes will visualize what it takes to win and then focus intently on that visualization until it becomes reality.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to take consistent action and maintain a dedicated practice within your business to make visualization really work.
Another great example of a vivid vision comes from remodeling or building a home.
Imagine that you go to your contractor with a vivid vision but you’re not exactly sure how to go about building or remodeling your home. In most cases you would hand your contractor or architect a series of photos which convey your vivid vision for what you want. Now imagine if you went to your contractor with a one sentence vision statement. You couldn’t possibly expect to get the exact outcome you want from one sentence.
Right?
So why are we visualizing the future of our businesses with one sentence?
Ok so we all get the importance of our big, juicy vivid vision right?
Now let’s look at how we go about creating one.
Herold recommends that we turn off our computers, get out of the office and go someplace remote, quiet and inspiring like a beach or a mountain. (Bonus points if you live in Oregon where we both of those)
“Take an unlined sketch pad and a pencil. Start writing what you see as the epitome of your success. Describe it in detail. It’s helpful to imagine that you’re filming every aspect of your business: your employees, customers, supplier relationships and so on. Play the film in your mind. What will the big picture and the details look like three years out?”
Hold no detail back, Herold says. “What are clients saying about you? What kind of comments are your employees making at the water cooler? How is the company running day-to-day?” Cover every area of your business: culture, staff, marketing, public relations, IT, operations, finance, engineering, production, customer service, etc.
Aim for 1,000 to 1,500 words, which will complete the first step. But don’t stop there. “Now go out and hire a professional writer to make the words pop and a graphic artist to make it look good”, says Herold.
This is all makes perfect sense right? Obviously your vision won’t help your company if no one else can see it as vividly as you do. Too many business owners expect the team around them to just “get it”.
Truth bomb: your team isn’t going to just “get it” via osmosis. You have to share the vivid vision and make sure your team sees it as vividly as you do.
Herold further advises us to put our vivid visions on our websites for the world to see (once it’s been professionally edited and designed of course) and then make laminated copies and bring them to board and executive meetings. Start your meetings by having an executive read all or part of the vivid vision.
Herold says the vivid vision should act like a magnet. “It should attract people who are committed to your vision and repel those who aren’t.”
I think this last sentence is crucial. In business it’s easy to think we need to attract EVERYONE. It’s like being desperate for a friend on the playground. Well luckily business is NOT a popularity contest. Instead, you want to be ok with repelling people who do NOT fit your customer profile and who are not part of your clearly defined target audience.
Apparently the vivid vision helps us do just that.
So…let’s get to work! I’m going to flush my vision statement down the toilet (or maybe just put it in the trash can on my computer) and work on my vivid vision instead.
It’s an awesome time of year to think deeply about your vision for the future of your business and create your strategic plan.
And, if you’d like more inspiration, Herold has written a “Vivid Vision Checklist,” available for free at cameronherold.com. He includes his own vivid vision.