Welcome to this conversation on Vision. Vision sometimes gets a bad rap. It's either one of those things which is just painted onto a wall somewhere and ignored. But at other times we think of Vision as being the be all and end all. We all admire those able to articulate Big Visions and position themselves as Visionaries.

What I like about the session that we do on Vision, is that every time I've done this, I've done it a few times now, it always excites me again, I suddenly realize how big Vision can be and I realize that it isn't something that only certain people have. And it definitely isn't something that should be relegated to a handbook somewhere. This is something that we should all be conscious of, develop, have front and centre in our lives. The key thing is that it isn't about imagining what you are or want to be, it's about thinking about the impact that you want to have, that you want your company to have.

It seems strange when we were talking about this before because in some ways, Vision is almost the starting point for a lot of the conversations we’ve had in the past.  You should enjoy this - a simple model, definitions for Vision, Mission, Goals and objectives and how to create your own vision without spending millions on consultancy.

Any comments let us know at podcast@coachpro.online.  Thanks for subscribing, sharing and your support.

Some notes from the transcript below:

Stephen, Vision is a word bandied around a lot in companies and business plans. And but what is the definition we're going to use for Vision today?

A Vision, whether it's a company Vision, or a personal Vision, is your ability to imagine something that hasn't yet happened. In a way that has the impact. It has passion. it's energizing. And it makes the kind of difference you really want something to make, it's being able to see in your mind something that hasn't yet happened and being able to articulate, and start to shape that, based upon the impact you want it to have. So a Vision for something is not necessarily about what you do, it's about the impact that you want it to have.

Vision is about the impact - not about I want to be this is.  It’s I want to make this happen. Is that the difference?

If your company has the ambition to be number one, in the world or in a market or in an industry. A Vision for that would be what would we want that impact then to be? What difference would we want to make then as the number one? In a personal Vision it's not about what you want to have, be or do. It's the impact that you then want to have by having, being or doing.

So an ambition is, 'we want to be number one'.  Vision is we want to change the world in a certain way, or make people's lives better and if we could achieve this impact, it's not about whether we're number one, two or three.  That's massively different from what you'd see on most companies walls. Their Vision would be what you would call an ambition.

Often BHAGs are dressed up as a Vision, just because they're beyond what they can see at that moment and that's a good place to start. If you then move on to a Vision, and that’s what impact do I  want to have with that, you can be number one in the world and hold an industry back. Or you can be number one in the world and redefine what the industry does,

Vision is about the impact and this is such a big difference, As you're talking. I‘m thinking of all the different Vision statements that people have are they are just big, hairy, audacious goals. These are goal statements then that I'm guilty of myself so many times.

Having big ambitious goals is fantastic. And there's an awful lot of people and businesses who do extremely well, because their goals are bigger than other people's goals. But there is a level above that, and that's Vision. And that is what can become really, really compelling. Because people might not necessarily agree with what you're aiming for. But they can really engage with the impact that, you want to have, the difference that you want to make, the cause, the purpose, something to be proud of,

There’s an immediate connection to purpose which we know really motivates people and gets everyone going. And we talked about it before about finding your purpose, finding your own purpose. If you've got a Vision, then which is about impact. It's kind of easier to hitch your own personal purpose wagon to this, the bigger story cool.

It really demonstrates and illustrates what your belief system is, because it's the real big reason why you're trying to achieve things. It's not just to beat everybody else,

There are some people & businesses who struggle to get beyond Goals to Vision, and there are other people who have really good at Vision, but don't necessarily connect it with goals. So it's about understanding what Vision is, and where it sits in the rest of that process to make sure that if our Vision is a light bulb, that you've got all the cable that goes all the way to the socket in the wall.  So that when you switch it on your bulb lights up.  Just having a Vision, is sitting with a light bulb and no connection.  Not having a Vision is just having cable with nothing at the end of it

What do you want to make negotiable and non negotiable.  If the non negotiable as a parent or a family member, is that your brothers, sisters or your kids, your parents continue to be happy, healthy and confident. If it doesn't work out exactly the way you thought it was going to be but the impact was there, the outcome was everything you wanted it to be, you’d be happy.

If you really want to change the world, or redefine something, and it doesn't end up looking the way you imagined it might, but it still changes the world and makes that difference. That's when you're making the Vision more important.  You're going to have the impact you really want to have, even if it doesn't actually look the way you thought it may.

We’ve got the three components in the model; a socket in the wall, cable, and then a light bulb.  And you need to make sure that they're all connected up.  Any breaks in the cable and that light bulb isn't going to light up. If the light bulb was not connected to the socket in the wall with cable, all you've got is a light bulb. And if all you've got is a socket in the wall and cable with nothing at the end of it. It's not going anywhere, nothing's happening.

People will ask if we really need Vision.  And in essence, you don't really need it up to a level. But if you have Vision it takes you over the line in terms of direction and momentum because it helps drive energy, passion. And when you start to look at the impact and the difference that you can make. It gives you something to align to. It can start to improve decision making of what we do and what we don't do. And importantly, how we do it and how we don't do it anymore. And because there’s a sense of purpose, which is a key component to your resilience, you'll be amazed at what you can get through, when you have a Vision.  It leads to high performing habits. And importantly, fits in with self-development. Vision is about you self-determining the impact and the difference that you want to make. It's not just you doing something and seeing how it pans out. It's not waiting for what other people tell you it is, or for luck, or fate, or nice or other consequences. It's use self-determining, this is the difference I want to make. This is the impact I want to have. These are my reasons why I do what I do. The way I do.

We've talked in the past a lot about the importance of understanding and having that clear identity that enables you to make better decisions, clearer decisions, more confident decisions to be happier. Vision then is part of that being clear about my impact. And the difference I want to make to the world and being clear about that. That's a really strong identity statement. If I'm really clear about Vision as you said I’ll put up with lots of issues & obstacles because my Vision is going to be so big and sexy that I'm only interested in driving towards it.

Sometimes you find in conversations with people on this that they've dedicated their whole life, whole career or all their time, energy, money into things and then ask ‘What was it all for?’ What difference did I make?’ What impact did I have? Did I move the dial at all? That wasn't actually what I wanted to be kind of known for within my industry. What is this all for? And this is about setting a Vision to determine what it's all going to be for, to give you that sense of direction where you can still affect the game.

The bigger the size of the Vision, the more compelling so that you can then do even the smallest things, even the stuff you hate do, the things you get fed up doing, the stuff you're bored doing, you've got a million reasons why you're doing it, because it's connected to that Vision. Otherwise, you're going through the motions, and you're trying progressively to to a little bit better, a little bit more. But that's where the momentum stops, and you have to dig deep every day to keep going, when you have that connection to that Vision, then you've got a real purpose in what you do, even for the smallest thing, there's a massive reason for it.

Should you be working on Visions for all the different areas of your life?

If you've got an overall Vision, that's something to align to and what you want everything to add up to and the difference you want that to make.  Then it's about alignment. And there may be some things as a business, or as a company, or a team, or even your personal life that you're doing, that might sort of drive some passion and energy, might have impact. But if it's not going through this cable connected to a light bulb, it's just activity. Need that sense of alignment to something, then you make better choices, you have better perspective, you have more reason for doing what you're doing. And that's why it's important.

It's sometimes challenging because people think is for someone else to do, or someone else to give you. That's about having someone else telling you what you really should be motivated and passionate about. You can do that and try and find some connection to it. But you can still have your own Vision. And they can then be aligned, then it's a strategic Vision because it's aligned to something bigger. But it's something that we should all have within ourselves. I believe that most people have got it, they've got the light bulb, and it might just not be connected to the socket in the wall with good cable. There's breaks in the cable. For some, they're going to have lots of cable, but nothing at the end of it.

Everyone's got a Vision, they may not know it, it'll be one of the things I know that from the past then is that this is one of the things is understanding that you do have a reason there is something which you're excited about and believe in. And maybe you just haven't recognized it as a light bulb.

Passion is Energy times Emotion. Not Plus. Energy times Emotion. They amplify each other into Passion.

In the model, you've got a vertical and a horizontal axis. The vertical one is about impact. Then you get the horizontal one is about passion, which is energy times emotion. It's not just energizing. It's not just emotional. When you combine the two of those, you get a real passion. Impact up and down. Passion across. You then have a diagonal line that goes from bottom left corner to top right hand corner. It cuts from bottom left hand corner that's up to the top right hand corner and this is your cable. Now at the bottom left hand corner is where the socket in the wall is and the top right hand corner is where your light bulb is going to go. This is where Vision sits.

So the Vision is maximum impact, maximum passion.  And the socket in the wall is where it all starts.

This is the momentum model. Because when you have optimal impact and optimal passion, you have optimal momentum, because momentum is a measure of how much impact and how much passion is involved. So it makes things move faster, move more powerfully, create velocity, great direction, all the things that are key to momentum of things happening, things moving optimally is at  that top right hand corner,  and that's where vision sits, When you come down that cable a little bit further towards the socket in the wall, you moved from Vision to Goals, because goals do have impact and passion, but not as much as Vision. So the momentum is a little bit less.

So BHAGs work. But there is even better.  Less momentum comes from goals, there's a lot but less, then if you continue further down towards that socket in the wall between the socket and goals, you've got objectives. So again, objectives do give you a certain amount of momentum, because they're about impact and passion but at a lower level than goals, which is at a lower level than Vision. So, the top right hand corner is Vision, and you follow that diagonal down to the left hand corner, you've got Vision, then coming down, you've got goals, then coming down, you've got objectives, and then down in the bottom left hand corner is your starting point.

And then what's the difference between an objective and a goal?

Well, I respect all the other definitions that people have. And all definitions have their limitations. But the most effective definitions, and particularly in self development, the most relevant definitions are the ones that are relative. It's not just saying what is a goal, what's an objective, it's what the relationship between goals and objectives, what's the relationship between goals and Vision. This then helps you to  understand when a Vision becomes a goal, when a goal becomes an objective, and then an objective becomes a starting point. So if you know the relationship between these four things, you will know where the line is and when that line is crossed.

Relative definitions in most things lets you see when something stops and starts becoming something else, then you're able to see the continuum, so that you can define what something really is. The continuum of self awareness, through self help through to self improvement, and then ultimately through to self development, we can then define what self development is relative to self improvement, so that you know the difference. And that helps clarify what something is, otherwise, an isolated definition is just like a bubble out there that you've defined. Unless you see where it's what sits before and what comes after you really don't understand it yet.

Lets start with Vision, and there's a bit of irony. A Vision is something that you don't exactly know what it looks like.  Your definition of it is how it is being measured by its impact but you don't yet know what it is you're building, You've got a real sense of the direction where you want to get to. But it's a sense, rather than a defined picture of what it looks like. It's not restricted. And the second element of that is, you do not have a clue how you're going to get there. And that's why it brings big impact and a great deal of passion, because it's open ended in terms of what it could look like. And it's open ended in what you might need to do to get there. So, it's exciting, it's energizing. And it's all encompassing, you can see this, then everyone's view and purpose and ideas and skill sets. Everyone feels that they can contribute to this....

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