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Visioning
By Bob Garrow
Did you know that the world’s
largest pirate fleet was once based on the east
coast of North America ? By 1604, a long-standing
war between England and Spain had finally ended. The
King of England, anxious to preserve his dwindling
stocks of gold, abandoned a fleet of sailors and
Navy officers in Canada’s Newfoundland, leaving them
with little money or food, and no means of support.
Captain Peter Easton converted
these unemployed sailors and ships into a committed
and powerful team. Under his leadership, these
pirates became so powerful that ships sailing in the
English Channel on the other side of the Atlantic
Ocean paid them protection money.
A Royal Navy fleet dispatched
to capture the pirate fleet chose to join the
pirates instead. How did Captain Easton convert a
rag-tag collection of unemployed sailors into a
force that could thrive in sea-lanes patrolled by
the world’s mightiest navy? A detailed examination
of the records, available through the library in
Davy Jones’ Locker, revealed that the key was a
visioning process developed by earlier pirate
leaders and still valid today.
Visioning:
Dreaming A Desired Future: Visioning is a
process that helps us make a desired future visible.
Visioning, pirate style, consisted of getting buy-in
on:
·
A shared purpose (to
steal and share treasures)
·
Where to sail to find
treasures
·
Rules of conduct for
every crewmember for the duration of the voyage.
·
The election of, and
agreement to obey, a captain.
Why do
Visioning?: If there is anything more powerful
than a leader with a compelling vision, it has to be
an organization focused on a compelling vision. Such
visions can:
·
Focus and energize an
organization to fulfill an important purpose,
perhaps one that benefits all of humankind
·
Create a North Star to
guide decision makers at every level within the
organization
·
Raise the sights of
everyone in the organization
·
Help to displace
complacency
How to do
Shared Visioning: To develop a shared vision for
your organization, proceed as follows:
·
Gather together your
organizational leaders including some of your
youngest but most promising colleagues. (They have
much more at stake in future oriented discussions
than your most senior leaders)
·
Bring in a facilitator
to manage the process and help generate fresh
perspectives
·
Make your organization a
real person. Set an empty chair at the head of the
table, with a prominent name card bearing your
organization’s name on it
·
Scan the horizon for
emerging future issues that will have big impacts on
the world in which you expect to operate
·
Be bold. Strive to go
where no one has gone before
·
Identify your
organization’s greater and lesser strengths (both
existing and to be acquired)
·
Analyze your competitive
position, as seen through the eyes of your targeted
future customers to identify and build upon your
leadership in the marketplace
·
Aim to be the best.
Compare yourself to, and commit to move closer to
being, the ideal
·
Synthesize your findings
into a succinct, compelling vision
Compelling
Visions: Compelling visions can:
·
Give a sense of purpose
and focus to your entire organization
·
Raise expectations and
performance to much higher levels
·
Seek to benefit all of
mankind rather than just the shareholders of an
organization.
·
Provide a focus to your
organization
Planning,
Implementing and Rewarding: With a clear vision
established, the next steps are to:
·
Set (annually)
measurable goals to track your success in moving
closer to your ideal vision
·
Develop plans (a forward
looking strategic plan and annual operating plans)
to fulfill your vision
·
Assign objectives and
measurable goals for each level and team within your
organization, asking them to develop their own plans
to achieve their goals in support of the overall
organizational vision and plan
·
Commit your leaders to
articulate the vision daily (and when necessary,
defend it)
·
Reinforce your vision
with rewards and recognition based on contributions
to fulfilling your vision
Pirates in general fell far
short of fulfilling a vision that benefited all of
humankind. One exception was Sir Francis Drake, an
English privateer and the first man to fulfill a
dream to circle the globe. Given the state of
navigational and sailing technology at the time,
this was a huge step for mankind.
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