W I N S T O N - D I L L A R D  A R E A  C H A M B E R  OF  C O M M E R C E

Winter

PRESIDENTIAL PONDERINGS
JAN 2012
               
Leadership guru Warren Bennis has said “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” Hmm. What is vision? How do you get one? Where does it come from? When you get one, how do you communicate it?
                It’s still early in a new year and it’s never too late to discover and articulate a vision for your life, your business, your family, your community. Dozens, if not hundreds of books are written, multiple videos are produced, countless podcasts are released all dealing with the subject of vision. We all know we need one and very likely you have one, you just may have never thought it through and written it down.
                While I am no expert, I am learning that a clear and compelling vision makes it easier to say NO to those things that sound exciting and interesting but don’t move me towards fulfilling that vision. A clear and compelling vision makes it easier to say YES to the important things, those projects and tasks that move me towards the completion of the vision.
                So, what is a vision? Where does it come from? How do you communicate it? Let me offer a couple of quick suggestions (not solutions, but suggestions). First, a vision is more than likely connected to the kinds of things you already enjoy doing, the tasks your business already requires you to do. Maybe you thoroughly enjoy working with customers, or maybe you prefer to work with numbers and statistics and products. Perhaps you enjoy working on abstract ideas or maybe you enjoy working with concrete and practical tasks. To discover a vision you have to decide what energizes you, what tasks and projects you really get jazzed about.
                Second, a vision is built around the end product or result. A vision is not a detailed work plan with goals and objectives all written out. A vision is usually a short and brief statement such as : “Building On People’s Strengths,” or “Encouraging People Through Difficult Times.” Our church’s vision is: ‘God’s Word: Changing Our World.’ Take some time and try to capture in as few words as possible what your life is all about.
                Third, communication the vision is important. How you communicate it will vary depending on the kind of person you are (shy, gregarious; quiet, boisterous; and so on); the people to whom you are communicating (customers, friends, family members, board members, and so on). The vision doesn't change, but the ways you communicate it might. We have a banner in our auditorium to displays our vision and we use our weekly program to promote our vision. Your tools will be different, but you do have ways to communicate your vision.( A hard test: ask people who frequent your business if they can identify your vision. If they can’t, you have some work to do in communicating your vision.)
                Finally, (and certainly not in the sense of having been exhaustive), your vision needs to drive all your decisions. There are a multitude of projects our church has been invited to participate in over the last 20 years, but we make decisions based on our vision. Just because we don’t participate doesn't mean we think the project is unworthy or useless. We just choose to invest our time and resources on those projects and tasks that advance our commonly identified vision.
                So, what is your vision? Do you have a vision? It is never too late to carefully think through what it is you want to achieve in your life.

                Join us on Jan. 24th at noon at Mars Garden for our monthly Chamber meeting. We will be discussing goals and objectives for the coming year. Then on January 28th join others in our community for our annual City-Wide Goal Setting Workshop. We will begin at 9:00am and finish by 12:00 Noon at the Winston Community Center. See you there!

Steve Schenewerk

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