4 steps to changing course (pt. 2)

#2 Set the vision

We are talking - changing course. This is the 2nd installment (first take a minute to read the previous post).

There are times when we simply have to do something different. When we hurt badly enough … when we are sick of no forward movement … when going back is just not an option. These are the times that call for vision.

Vision has been defined as “a view of a preferred future”. Considering our topic is how to shift directions in an organization, we should think “forward” rather than “backward”. Change can be painful and that is why many people avoid it. Those who resist change spend time talking about history. Those who embrace change talk about the future.

While it may not seem like it, the key question concerning setting vision is: "What will solve the problem?"

Take yourself all the way through and beyond the issue that is holding you back and at the completion of that journey you will find vision.

Leaders find solutions. Peter Arnell said, “True change springs from an idea whose time has come. It is powered by dissatisfaction with the way things are.” Visionaries despise the status quo and are willing to take the risks necessary in order to break out.

I shared in my last post that our church is in process of making adjustments. We usually are. These transitions come from our assessment that we can do better, we can be more effective. It starts with dissatisfaction with the way things are or how they are going. We then develop a vision for what could be. This is our target. "What could be" is our motivation.

You can’t change course unless you know which course to get on. It is equally important to get on the right track once you have abandoned the old one. The end of the course is your vision.

If you need to change course, first figure out the problem. Then, decide your goal. Vision obsession is necessary in order to succeed. Lock in on it, pursue it with passion. You are already half way home!

Now, set the vision and get going toward it!

Next time we are going to talk about the cost of changing course: the big questions: – "is it worth it?"

Com’on back!