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Vision, Mission, and Purpose

The vision is the destination. Let’s say we’re going on vacation (holiday).  Where are we going exactly? Where are we going to stay? What will we do when we get there? You don’t go on vacation without a clear vision of where you are going, right? When you buy an airline ticket, you have to tell the
agent exactly what city you are going to, correct? When you get in a taxi, you tell the driver exactly where you are going.


“Vision + Vision = Division”


Dion Robert pastors a church of over 100,000 people on the Ivory Coast of Africa. He said, “Vision + vision = division.” If you and your team are pulling in different directions, eventually division comes. Many years ago I had two partners. All three of us had different gifts. I was the sales and marketing guy (and the president, the leader), one was the operations guy, and one was the administration guy. When we worked together it was a thing of beauty.  Each was passionate about his area. Each was competent in his area.
The business grew by leaps and bounds. Eventually, three different visions emerged regarding where we should go with the business. After a couple of years of struggling with each other in disagreements about what should and shouldn’t be done, one of the partners finally bowed out. I was happy to oblige him and paid him what he wanted. He still works for me today and is a phenomenal person. Just because people have different opinions doesn’t mean they’re wrong or are bad people. In fact, had we done some of the
things he wanted to way back then, I would have avoided a great deal of heartache later on.  Once Scott was out of the picture, Dennis and I went after each other even more aggressively. I didn’t realize poor Scott was the buffer between us two “bulls”! Dennis went on to be a trainer, which he loves to do, and both of them made out very well financially. I got my company back and was able to pursue my vision, which not only eventually led to a predictable, profitable turnkey operation, that business is the envy of its industry, and I am living my dream of helping other business owners stop being slaves to their businesses.  There can be only one vision. We can’t be on our way to Florida and Texas at the same time. We can go to one first and then go to the other. We can stop by one on the way to the other, but if I’m in Alabama, I can’t be on my way to both at the same time.  Michael E. Gerber said in his book, Awakening the Entrepreneur from Within, “A vision is comprised of your primary aim and your strategic objective. The first is the vision for your life. The second is the vision for your business. Together, these two visions become the driving force for the growth of the company.”  You see, together these become the driving force. Your business vision must reinforce your life goals. Otherwise, you’ll be conflicted. Be clear on both and communicate them to your staff.

Get Your Dream Team Involved in the Vision

Even though there can only be one vision, I would have done better by incorporating some of my partners’ ideas into my vision. Over the years I got better at listening to others (as my friend Tom Ziglar says, “Your hearing gets much better after you’ve failed a few times.”). Now I include my team in the
vision casting. Dale Carnegie said, “People support a world they help create.”  Today, when I have a challenge or a problem or want to brainstorm, I get my team together. And I have to admit that some of our very best ideas didn’t come from me.

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