This blog is about an example of a Vision
What's the use of a blog on vision without a clear example of a vision? I'm emphasizing this is just an example vision!
Suppose, I am the chief of a car rental company in The Netherlands. And I just have been on a camper holiday to Australia. Back in Europe, I see more and more elderly people selling their homes and buying campers. In the professional literature, it is all sorrow and misery in the car rental business.
What I see in travel guides is that a lot of camping sites are still focused on young families with backpack tents. Sitting back in a rocking chair with some vintage wine I am thinking about what the future of Europe, traveling, and my company will be like in 2020. I am desperately trying to find something to make sure my company will still exist or will be necessary for the future. Or else ...
Trends, Developments and Probabilities
My educated guess is that with a probability of 60% shortly (less than 3 years) working and traveling across Europe will gain much popularity. Because of the internet and the smartphone, traveling in vast and isolated areas will become safer. And because of European regulations, a lot of hospitals will be built in remote areas.
I would guess that because of solar energy, cars will get a more positive feeling and because Poland will rise as a nation with a lot of knowledge workers from the Netherlands will go to Poland. These knowledge workers also want to travel a lot in that area.
So combining all these trends, probabilities, and options, I am concluding that I must start investing in a cross-over between mobile homes and campers and at least start buying ten large campers, building large parking lots, and investing in camping sites for campers.
Even though it is late, I jump out of my chair and start writing my vision statement, which the next day I will only share with my colleagues after they have signed an additional NDA.
Summary
So my example vision is: in the future people will travel a lot across Europe (in particular in Poland and the Balkan) with large campers for combining work and holidays in these countries. Much and much more than we can imagine today. And if this is my vision as chief of a car rental company, it is obvious what I am going to do now.
Enterprise Architecture as Strategy
If you want to develop a vision in your organization you may do this as part of strategic management. Read more about Enterprise Architecture as Strategy here.