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“Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right.”

-Aldous Huxley

As you may recall, we have been exploring the notion that enduring success is achievable when one builds an organization that is both Smart and Healthy, and that one of the major aspects of creating a Smart and Healthy organization is getting every member of a senior leadership team on the “same page” with regard to the company’s vision.

Today’s post is about the power of having a senior leadership team paint a vivid picture of what their business will look like in just three short years.

What does a great 3-Year Picture look like?

While we love the inspirational power of a 10-Year Target™, it is imperative to have a medium-range goal that brings it closer to today. In our experience, companies have greater success in achieving long-term goals when they develop 3-Year Pictures that:

• are short and simple (our two page V/TO™ takes just one third of a page to “paint” a 3-Year Picture™);
• create full consensus on where the business is going;
• establish key measurables and goals that are consistent with and help legitimize the 10-Year Target;
• provide clear measurables and frameworks for the annual and quarterly planning processes;
• can be shared with all of the employees so that everyone has a better sense for how their role, measurables, and goals contribute to the longer-term plan; and
• enhance an organization’s ability to visualize the most important and compelling images associated with where they are going; because thoughtful visualization exercises have been proven to increase the probability of attaining goals.

So how do you develop a picture that does all that?

There are three steps to creating a great 3-Year Picture:

1- PREDICT & DEFINE
First, predict your revenue and profit in the third year and define the one, two or three “Key Measurables” necessary to achieve them. By Key Measurables, we mean number of units sold, customers served, etc. This gives everyone an idea of not only the scope and size of the company in the future, but what is really important – the Key Measurables.

2- KEEP, KILL, OR COMBINE
Have each member of the leadership team create a simple list of bullet points that provides a compelling snapshot of what he or she thinks the business should look like three years out. Consider more than just revenue and profit; include such notions as number and quality of people; added resources; office environment, size, and numbers; operational efficiencies; technology needs; and product, markets, and client mixes.

Once the lists are complete, go together as a team through each bullet point on each list and decide whether to keep it, kill it, or combine it with another item. When you are done, you should have 10 to 20 succinct bullet points that collectively convey a 3-Year Picture that is both compelling and realistic, inspiring and achievable, motivating and grounded; and that convincingly connects the 10-Year Target to the 1-Year Plan (our next blog topic).

3- VISUALIZE & VERBALLY COMMIT
A great 3-Year Picture is only complete when the entire leadership team is 100% on the same page with regard to every goal and Key Measurable and has verbally committed to making it happen. While it may sound a bit hokey, a very effective way to do this is by asking everyone to close their eyes as you read the 3-Year Picture out loud so that each of them really hears it, visualizes it, and understands it. Then ask each of them to commit verbally to it – one by one.

When this is done, you have achieved Same Page status on the 3-Year Picture, and you have taken a giant step closer to having all of the ingredients associated with creating a Smart and Healthy company.

“The older I get, the more I see a straight path where I want to go. If you’re going to hunt elephants, don’t get off the trail for a rabbit.”

-T. Boone Pickens

Unit next time, may you build with passion and confidence.