Envision the Future
By
Eugene Reagan
Senior Consultant
I went through the Philadelphia airport every Thursday evening for two
and a half years. More than a hundred times, I went through the security
line. I am convinced that the security operation was never structured
the same way twice during that whole time—different levels of staffing,
different numbers of screening stations, and different approaches to
expedited boarding. Just about every little thing that could be
different was changed every week. The results: on occasion, there was
absolutely no wait; at other times, there would be hundreds of people in
line—all for no apparent reason.
Why should this be? No doubt the management and staff wanted everything
to go smoothly with minimal disruptions, but they just could not seem to
put it all together successfully. I believe this was because they didn’t
have a vision of what success would look like. They couldn’t look at
their successes and see what would be required to replicate them.
A strong vision is critical to a successful operation. Everyone needs to
know what is expected, and this can be achieved only when everyone has a
clear picture of success. Senior management must see the picture and
clearly communicate it so that everyone is taking actions to move toward
that goal. Arguably, the most famous vision statement was developed in
the early days of Microsoft: “A PC on every desktop.” What a clear,
simply-stated picture of the ultimate goal. Every clerk, programmer, or
marketer could see their activities as movements toward that end.
As part of every strategic planning exercise, senior management drafts a
vision statement. We have all seen them posted around the office. Most
of the time, they are bland and generic; applicable to any company or
industry. The most successful statements, though, communicate a true
vision. They paint a picture of what the future will look like when the
company works together to achieve its potential.
