When I started working, I used to often hear the words ‘goals’ and ‘vision’ being used interchangeably ever so often. Well, one goes along with it until they mature enough to understand the difference between the two and the importance of working with both hand in hand.
Vision is the long term destination the firm wants to reach; and the path to that vision is what sets your goals. So after years of listening to both the words being overused, here’s my little nugget on vision and how not to lose sight of goals while chasing it.
1. You do not have to chose between goals and vision: Goals will help you set short milestones to cross and achieve as you go towards your ultimate achievement of reaching the vision. Its like someone telling me in the gym that they dream of having this perfect body, but they haven’t broken it down to smaller achievements to reach that particular vision. They need to set goals for every week or every month and achieve them successfully before they think they’re ready to flash those washboard abs.
2. Goals are short term, vision is limitless: Motivate your team to work hard towards the short term goals. While sitting in the fancy corner office one could keep dreaming of the next thought provoking idea and how it will ‘change’ the world but day to day rationality of optimising performance and profitability is what makes the wheels go round. It will take longer to actualise your vision, but goals will get converted faster giving your business more motivation to reach where you dreamt of it to.
3. Learn to walk the tightrope: Too much obsession with the vision might take your eyes off the short-term goals, and too much focus on goals will lead you nowhere in the long run. So while it may be gratifying to get applauded in the board room for a fancy vision but daydreaming about a fancy vision could get intoxicating and lead to illusions. Rather focus on goals as much as you would on your vision. Its like keeping your eye firmly on the goals but an intense devotion to the vision.
4. Allocate time in your daily functions: My practical hack is to divide time between achieving success with your short and mid term aims while allocating time to creating and reaching your vision. While goals require hardcore action, a vision can be an intoxicating illusion one is driven to chase. Take time off the daily grind of chasing the goals to shape your vision.
5. Multiple goals one vision: Goals need to be constantly revised, checked, modified as you go along. Once something is achieved you move on to the next checklist. While vision will gradually manifest, your constantly moving goals will keep you motivated to work towards your vision. Like the X and Y axis don’t have to be symmetrical or equal, it constantly will keep moving dynamically and help you strive for your vision.
Goals produce results, goals are practical and rational; visions take slower to mature. One needn’t choose between the two, just wear both the shoes and walk on. After all you need a destination to keep looking forward to but the journey takes you there.