Best ever vision statements!
I have a revelation to share with you. The number one cause for company’s being inefficient is not what you think. It’s something worse but no one even notices it. It flies low on the radar and everyone keeps plugging away thinking that things are good. The results are slow and disastrous. What am I talking about? It’s the lack of understanding or worst yet not having a vision for the organization.
Seriously, you may be asking. Yes, seriously. Whenever I am asked to come into organizations to help them become more effective and efficient so that productivity can improve, 9 times out of 10 this is the core reason why things have gone astray and the organization has issues. Why is this?
Visions and values are the guiding light that binds everyone together in good times and bad. As soon as I start to probe a little deeper into the organization I’m helping, I hear very different answers from each employee. Interestingly 70% of employees don’t know their organization’s vision. Vision statements tend to be too broad so that no one understands or remembers them.
A great vision statement, which is a long-term outlook that embodies the organization (or even an individual’s) highest values and aspiration, is meant to inspire people to reach for what could be and to rise above current pressing fears and preoccupations. It keeps you on track. The vision statement is what you do and why you do it.
Here at CornerStone Dynamics, we have taken this to heart because we know the negative impact a poor vision statement, or lack of one, has on an organization. Most people think of a vision statement as a written document, but we believe you can gain a great deal of value from a vision statement that is visual. So we created a visual vision statement that incorporates not only the text, but visuals of symbols, images, colours and even music that reinforces the verbal message.
We are so passionate about improvement and resolving issues through root cause analysis that we created a Visioning Program for our clients. Our purpose is to inspire and motivate the employees to live the vision every day, to use it in decision making and to share it with their customers so even they understand that their relationship is more than just the product or service the organization is selling. It’s about dealing with like-minded souls.
So how do you get an amazing, inspiring and awesome vision statement that motivates everyone and is used in strategic and daily decision making? Easy, and it happens in 6 simple steps:
Step 1: Look at your current vision statement and ask yourself when was the last time you used it for decision making? Also, ask others in your organization if they know the company vision statement. If you get blank stares or different answers it’s time to revisit your vision and look at which path your organization is on, if any.
Step 2: Give us a call and we’ll sit down with you and discuss the options and how we can make your vision look like artwork and even sing…literally.
Step 3: First, we work with your team, take your existing vision and create a deep, profound visual vision and transfer it to a canvas, just like a work of art. Once done, this canvas provides guidance for strategic decisions, setting priorities and helps with planning. It also aligns people, breaks down silos, empowers, instills confidence and acts as a source of inspiration and sparks creativity. Pretty cool for a visual vision statement.
Step 4: Once your visual vision is done, you take it to a whole new level by creating, what we call, a Visual Vision/Corporate Theme Song. With your team we transform your vision statement into a melody and ultimately a song that your employees fine-tune and sing. All with the help from professional musicians and done in a professional recording studio. It’s an amazing experience that is a unique and fun team-building opportunity. Plus we video tape it and make an awesome video so you can use it at company meetings, events, functions and trade-shows. Check out ours as featured on YouTube.
Step 5: When all is said and done, your employees will want a visual vision for themselves. This is a great thing because a leader’s role is to raise people’s aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there. To rise up to this challenge, we encourage our clients to give their employees the gift of finding their life’s theme through the creation of their own visual vision statement with the use of our Visual Vision Doodle Book. A fun and interactive workbook that helps individuals find their purpose in life.
Step 6: We will then help you with your sustainment plan. We don’t want you to do all this great work to have it shelved and everyone returning to old habits. This is a change in thinking and we will support you through this process because your success is our success.
When your daily actions and values are truly aligned and your employees feel a sense of purpose, you and your organization are unstoppable. If you can spend even 5 min a day in the right frame of mind, inspired by your purpose, it’s amazing what you can accomplish. When you’re clear with your desires, they come to fruition and manifest themselves. All of this begins when you look ahead and imagine in detail the future you hope to reach. The more precisely you can define it, the more easily it will come and you will see what you must do to get there. So transform your existing vision into a Visual Vison and Corporate Theme Song and use it as the powerful tool it is meant to be to help you reach your loftiest goals and dearest dreams.
