Comments on: Now This is a Good Vision Statement http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/ Leadership, productivity, vocation, and theology Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:19:28 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Matt http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-1385 Matt Thu, 12 Feb 2009 04:14:59 +0000 http://www.whatsbestnext.com/?p=983#comment-1385 Bryce, A lot could be said. My first thought is that you can't separate out what is realistic from what is inspiring so clearly. Maybe 95% would only be more realistic because of the fact that people "think" that's most likely, and so they settle. Whereas if you set the goal at the top, that becomes part of the means that brings you to the reaching of the goal. The default should be to stretch -- you want what Jim Collins calls "big hairy audacious goals." And I think that what is realistic is often far beyond what we first think. A great example of a very big, stretch goal is "put a man on the moon by the end of this decade and return him safely." That's ambitious and amazing, and we didn't know how to do it at the time Kennedy said that. But our vision to do it made it happen. Of course some things are manifestly unrealistic for the time--the vision was not "land a man on mars by the end of the 60s." Last of all: With the Amazon, let's say that in 10 years, they are at 98%. I think everyone involved would feel that is a success. But you put the goal at 100%, in the same way that, back in school, my goal on every test was 100%. I didn't always make it, but that was always my goal. If I got less than that, I didn't consider it a failure. But it was an incentive to keep improving. If we set lower goals in the name of realism, we may simply be lowering the bar. That's where I lean. I hope that's a little helpful at least. Bryce,

A lot could be said. My first thought is that you can’t separate out what is realistic from what is inspiring so clearly. Maybe 95% would only be more realistic because of the fact that people “think” that’s most likely, and so they settle. Whereas if you set the goal at the top, that becomes part of the means that brings you to the reaching of the goal.

The default should be to stretch — you want what Jim Collins calls “big hairy audacious goals.” And I think that what is realistic is often far beyond what we first think. A great example of a very big, stretch goal is “put a man on the moon by the end of this decade and return him safely.” That’s ambitious and amazing, and we didn’t know how to do it at the time Kennedy said that. But our vision to do it made it happen. Of course some things are manifestly unrealistic for the time–the vision was not “land a man on mars by the end of the 60s.”

Last of all: With the Amazon, let’s say that in 10 years, they are at 98%. I think everyone involved would feel that is a success. But you put the goal at 100%, in the same way that, back in school, my goal on every test was 100%. I didn’t always make it, but that was always my goal. If I got less than that, I didn’t consider it a failure. But it was an incentive to keep improving. If we set lower goals in the name of realism, we may simply be lowering the bar.

That’s where I lean. I hope that’s a little helpful at least.

]]> By: Bryce http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-1381 Bryce Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:10:05 +0000 http://www.whatsbestnext.com/?p=983#comment-1381 Hey Matt, I'm interested in what you said at the beginning about it being a good vision statement. How do you find the balance between an inspiring vision and a realistic vision? If you go the route of inspiring only (i.e., 100% of books, instead of more realistic 95%), don't you run the risk of setting peoples' expectation too high, and then letting them down eventually? Hey Matt, I’m interested in what you said at the beginning about it being a good vision statement. How do you find the balance between an inspiring vision and a realistic vision? If you go the route of inspiring only (i.e., 100% of books, instead of more realistic 95%), don’t you run the risk of setting peoples’ expectation too high, and then letting them down eventually?

]]> By: J. Gary Ellison http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-1379 J. Gary Ellison Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:40:42 +0000 http://www.whatsbestnext.com/?p=983#comment-1379 Speaking of remote areas with low literacy rates, my family spent a week in Leviamp, Malekula in Vanuatu in December, doing a Christian youth camp. There was no electric or plumbing or telephone service. Even mobile phones were out of range. But the church and school headmaster of the village had generators so everyone came to charge their battery operated gadgets (phones, mp3 players, and even a computer). Solar powered lights were charged every day. The school headmaster is doing such a good job that some of the young people from that church and village are now in university. Some ministries such as Global Recordings (http://globalrecordings.net/) have Saber hand wind mp3 players with the messages, portions of Scripture or the entire Bible on them. MegaVoice (http://www.megavoice.com) units are "message secure" because they are designed to play messages that cannot be changed by end users of the MegaVoice players. This means that they can only be used for ministry purposes. The Kindle units could eventually be used even in remote areas such as Malekula because people hop on a truck to go to town where there is mobile phone service, and while Internet service is still limited and very expensive, a colleague on the island north of Malekula accesses the Internet wirelessly from his home where he does not even have a landline phone. On the other hand, the negative societal impact of the flood of DVD's shows that all this new technology can open new avenues for evil as well as for good. Speaking of remote areas with low literacy rates, my family spent a week in Leviamp, Malekula in Vanuatu in December, doing a Christian youth camp. There was no electric or plumbing or telephone service. Even mobile phones were out of range. But the church and school headmaster of the village had generators so everyone came to charge their battery operated gadgets (phones, mp3 players, and even a computer). Solar powered lights were charged every day. The school headmaster is doing such a good job that some of the young people from that church and village are now in university.

Some ministries such as Global Recordings (http://globalrecordings.net/) have Saber hand wind mp3 players with the messages, portions of Scripture or the entire Bible on them. MegaVoice (http://www.megavoice.com) units are “message secure” because they are designed to play messages that cannot be changed by end users of the MegaVoice players. This means that they can only be used for ministry purposes.

The Kindle units could eventually be used even in remote areas such as Malekula because people hop on a truck to go to town where there is mobile phone service, and while Internet service is still limited and very expensive, a colleague on the island north of Malekula accesses the Internet wirelessly from his home where he does not even have a landline phone.

On the other hand, the negative societal impact of the flood of DVD’s shows that all this new technology can open new avenues for evil as well as for good.

]]> By: Brian Current http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-1373 Brian Current Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:31:12 +0000 http://www.whatsbestnext.com/?p=983#comment-1373 I'm imagining myself reading in the morning before work.. then switching the device to audio-mode as i step into my car to continue the book while i commute! I’m imagining myself reading in the morning before work.. then switching the device to audio-mode as i step into my car to continue the book while i commute!

]]> By: Matt http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-1371 Matt Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:09:24 +0000 http://www.whatsbestnext.com/?p=983#comment-1371 Amen. Very true: Huge implications for the blind and visually impaired as well. That's big. Amen. Very true: Huge implications for the blind and visually impaired as well. That’s big.

]]> By: Jessica http://www.whatsbestnext.com/2009/02/now-this-is-a-good-vision-statement/comment-page-1/#comment-1369 Jessica Tue, 10 Feb 2009 11:32:17 +0000 http://www.whatsbestnext.com/?p=983#comment-1369 They found a way out of the electricity problem with One Laptop Per Child...it is manually chargeable/powered by a crank. It could work. The text-to-speech feature isn't just for low-literacy. It provides access for the blind and visually impaired, too, who have a right to access the information. Great vision statement. :-) They found a way out of the electricity problem with One Laptop Per Child…it is manually chargeable/powered by a crank. It could work.

The text-to-speech feature isn’t just for low-literacy. It provides access for the blind and visually impaired, too, who have a right to access the information.

Great vision statement. :-)

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