Characteristics of a Vision

Professors Paul Nutt and Robert Backoff wrote a wonderful article on the role of visions in organizations.² They say that a vision must embody four ideas: possibility, desirability, actionability, and clarity. By possibility, a vision needs to represent a future state that people think can be achieved. Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, in their seminal book Built to Last, suggest that a vision needs to be a stretch goal as it is those stretch goals that help organizations to stay competitive and resourceful.³ In addition, they describe a vision as having two parts: an audacious goal and a vivid description. By an “audacious goal,” they suggest that a vision needs to be bold and big, or a “big, hairy, audacious goal” (BHAG). They also suggest that whatever the goal or vision, it should be captured in a vivid description. We agree with this sentiment: While it is good to have visions written in words, they should also be written in symbols, as pictures, or even in slogans. Here we are reminded of Pavlov’s dog. In this story, Pavlov, a scientist, rang a bell before he fed his dog. Eventually, every time the dog heard the bell, he began to salivate, as the bell reminded him of the vision of the food. This vivid description actually produced a physical response in the dog. We think organizations should find the bell that will inspire the same kind of excitement in their employees as Pavlov found with his dog.

This brings up Paul Nutt and Robert Backoff’s next point: A vision needs to be desirable in that individuals in the organization should want to change from the current state to the vision. Here is where the emotional part of change is critical. Often individuals can recite the vision, but they do not have a passion for the vision. Without that passion, when change becomes difficult, they will say they never wanted the vision and attempt to revert back to the old system.

Third, a vision needs to be actionable. A vision is not a wish list of things an organization wants. A vision needs to be focused on a few things and give insight into how an organization will achieve them. Often a vision says something like “we will be great in a particular area by doing some things great” (e.g., we will achieve a transparent government by improving the service to the public).

Last, a vision needs to be clear. Individuals need to be able to talk about the vision in few words. In our opinion, if the vision is more than a paragraph, it loses its power. Here is where organizations have used slogans to represent their visions (e.g., Ford used “Quality is job one”; Nike, “Just do it”). In his article on why change fails, John Kotter states, “A useful rule of thumb: if you can’t communicate the vision to someone in five minutes or less and get a reaction that creates both understanding and interest, you are not yet done.”⁴

Being able to communicate the vision is a critical role of leadership. In his book on why change efforts fail, Kotter also identifies undercommunicating the vision as one of his eight key reasons as to why change fails. Great leaders need to define everything they do in terms of their vision. Examples of this in the social arena would be Nelson Mandela’s vision of not only abolishing apartheid but also finding equality for all people and Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of equal rights for Black Americans.