A vision tells us where we are going

Pri Notowidigdo, The Amrop Hever Group, Global Executive Search (e-mail:jakarta@amrophever.com)

The other day someone remarked to me that business is only about getting projects and making money. Somehow, this remark just didn't sit well with me because it seemed to rob us of our humanity. It just did not touch the heart of the matter.

Isn't business also about touching the hearts of people? Isn't it also about giving employees a sense of pride? Isn't it about having a feeling of being special? Isn't it about having a confidence that nobody else makes a product or provides a service quite as well as them? What I am referring to is simply called vision. Isn't it important then for a business to have a sustainable vision?

Successful companies who have sustained their businesses over a long period of time see the value of vision. Vision elevates the routine and mundane into the higher realms of achievement.

Vision generates passion. It brings meaning on otherwise routine days. It gives direction to goals and provides guidance for daily decisions. Without vision, organizations can wither, and people lose heart. Yet most organizations don't have a vision or don't have a meaningful one.

Isn't vision the dream that pulls us into the future? Isn't it a statement to capture a dream in words? Yet we also see organizations that confuse the output with the idea.

We know who we are, as an organization of people, not because we've developed a vision statement. We know who we are because we know who we are. When we "live" the vision statement, then we are truly practicing our vision, and not just memorizing it.

We truly practice our vision when we feel it's worth the effort. We feel excited to act and achieve things. It invites us to share because we believe in what we are doing. We can understand and relate to our vision because it's practical and gives guidance to the process.

In other words, a vision tells us where we are going. Strategies tell us how to get there - how to win in our competitive environment, how to give our customers what they need at the right price and with the right cost. Plans and goals tell us how to implement and measure our strategies.

Most importantly, does the vision tell a story about who we are? Does it reflect what we believe,? Does it show what matters for us? Can it touch the heart and move us to achieve things?

Take this children's story that has a timeless message. As two stonecutters were working, a passer-by noticed that the two were working with very different levels of intensity. Going up to one stonecutter who was working he asked him what he was doing.

"I'm cutting stone," the man answered matter-of-factly as he sipped his drink.

The passer-by then approached the second stonecutter, who was working hard at exactly the same job as the first man. He waited until the man looked up and smiled.

"What are you doing?" the passer-by asked. The man wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve.

"I'm building a cathedral," he answered proudly before taking up his tools again.

The passer-by nodded in understanding and walked on.

What was the difference between cutting stone and building a cathedral? Vision. Our vision must connect with the hearts and dreams of our people. Otherwise, they're just cutting stone aren't they?