Make your organizational vision bold and compelling

What makes a vision both bold and compelling?

Boldness requires committing to something beyond what is merely predictable based on extrapolating historical trends and current competences and resources and taking into account present-day issues, challenges and market conditions.

The tougher dimension of a vision is making it compelling, and that requires finding the sweet spot between boldness and plausibility.

If a vision is too bold, people will nod “yes,” but they’ll believe “no.” Their behavior will be more consistent with their belief that it can’t happen. In this case, you get people pretending or investing minimal, incremental effort, rather than being genuinely onboard.

So boldness comes from a stretch away from what history tells you, but compelling-ness comes from the sweet spot between the reach and what everyone already knows can be done.

It’s almost always easier to stretch when you are not yet on the hook for producing the result. For example: If we did 100 million units last year, I could say, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great if we did 150 million?” That’s a really bold target. But when you say to me, “Are you really going to commit to that?” I might think twice. I really could commit to 110, or even 115, because that’s within reach, even though it would require a significant stretch to get there.

So when something is just a little more reachable, it’s even more compelling. When a vision is too fantastic, too unrealistic, people tend to give up before they start.

Is your current vision a doable stretch or a fantasy? We would love to hear your comments.

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