adminspecific, achievable, realistic, measurable and time bound).
The obsession with the smart model has contributed in respondents missing the real attributes and functionality of vision and how it differs from objectives.
Dreaming is one of the rare gifts we received from the Almighty God in equal proportions.
The moment we sleep all of us dream. However, what has not been given to us in equal proportions is the ability to convert some of our dreams into reality.
Most people fail to convince themselves that they can achieve what they have conceptualised because most people are their harshest critics.
For each vision a person generates, there is an equal and opposing force to that vision generated from within ourselves.
Conquering a war from within one’s self is one of the hardest feats to attain. Nevertheless, there is no doubt about that all notable inventions in this world started as mere daydreaming activities.
Most of these dreams about the future reveal “hazy pictures” of future happenings in our minds.
The more one reflects on these hazy like pictures the more these pictures become clearer and defined.
In some cases they are supported by our emotional aspirations about the future. They always appear as a high-level achievement benchmark to our current performance.
The fact that they are somehow hazy reflects that visions are not easily quantifiable; neither can they be defined as realistic.
“Hazy picture” also implies that in most cases visions are framed in general. They are not quite specific.
They give an overview of the direction the company is moving to through the mission statement.
Rather they are an inspirational general description of what one would like to achieve or accomplish in the foreseeable future.
They define the success of a company or individual at any particular time. In organisational terms visions are medium to long term which covers a period ranging from two years to about seven years.
However, for some companies and individual the period can even go up to 30 years to 50 years.
Vision is therefore a mental picture of what the future organisation or person looks like.
The political history of the Obama family in Kenya illustrates aptly how a father’s vision was passed down to his son right through to his grandson who then fulfilled it.
Onyango Hussein Obama (Barack Obama’s grand- father) was a very community-oriented young man who liked to participate in political events in Kendu Bay in Kenya.
However, he was denied the chance to participate in the political events in Kendu because he was considered an outsider since he was originally from Alego village.
He refused to be reduced to a second-class citizen in Kendu and migrated back to Alego.
The spirit of community orientation and political participation in Kenya was also present in Barack Obama (Senior) though he did not know how to navigate the politics of Kenya.
Like his grandfather, United States President Barack Obama (Junior) dreamt of not just giving people hope but “to make a better future possible for them or at least for their future”.
He argues that . . . “you always have to keep your eye on your vision. Sometimes people take longer to understand but eventually they get it. I believe firmly in that”.
Similarly, the vision of finishing the construction of Great Zimbabwe was fulfilled after 300 years.
This, therefore, implies that vision needs to be framed in general, in immeasurable terms and communicated to the organisation’s team.
The team then develops the ends (objectives) ways (concepts) and means (resources to achieve the vision) (objectively.com/blog/vision-goals-objectives.
The differences and similarities between vision, goals and objectives
A vision defines what the organisation is supposed to look like and the values the organisation finds important. It gives overall reasons for people to go to work and do what they do every day.
As alluded to earlier on visions are not smart in nature but are general, less focused and difficult to measure.
Like the vision goals are also in less quantifiable terms though they are more focussed than vision, for instance, the organisation must reduce overtime costs. Goals are derived from the vision and are the end results that the organisation wants to achieve.
Visions remain pipe dreams if there is no real strategy formulated to turn these dreams into reality.
In order to get to your envisioned and desired future, there is need to formulate more specific, action-oriented sub-goals which are known as objectives.
The objectives are sub-goals with measurable outcomes that are expected to enable one to get to his or her goals.
The objectives provide a way of measuring the movement of the organisation towards attaining its vision. Objectives are presented in precise and quantifiable terms.
An objective may also accompany a specific program started by the company in order to specify the reason for the program and its purpose.
The objectives also provide a check and balance in the attainment of the broader vision.
Objectives are tools used to measure progress towards attainment of goals such as variance analysis.
l The writer is a Managing Consultant at CLC Training International. E-mail [email protected].
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