Grand Navigation
It first hit me on a cold rainy day in 1983. I was a gung-ho, athletic officer candidate at Ft. Benning, Georgia, standing in the rain, 5 miles from the nearest paved road, listening to an Army Ranger prep our company for our “pass-or-get-cut” land navigation test.
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”
Five hours and approximately 10 miles of back country hiking and navigating later, about 100 of us passed this test. Seventeen exhausted, aspiring officer candidates did not. Hours later their bunks were stripped and they were sent packing.
“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”
Where are you going? What does the amazing, incredible future of your organization look like? What is your dream, your vision, of what could be?
Susan Scott, in her brilliant book, Fierce Conversations, states: “the quality of our lives is largely determined by the quality of the questions we ask – and the quality of our answers.” So what are the big, bold questions that can define our ideal future? Susan Scott offers these:
- Where are we going?
- Why are we going there?
- Who is going with us?
- How are we going to get there?
Imagine what could be possible if you could gain clarity about your desired outcome for yourself, your team, your company. Let’s add some bold action to this bold thinking. Once you have this clarity, what could you do with it?
Leaders inspire a shared vision. Great leaders do this frequently according to Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner in The Leadership Challenge. Keyword = shared. That means it gets translated from brilliant leader brains into conversations that enlist others in the vision… conversations that engage others in co-creating the amazing, incredible future. It’s more than words. Vision gets translated into action. Around here we call it BOLD action.
A strong vision will have an effect on actions you take every day. Frequently shared, a strong vision will help your team members make better choices every day. Result = waste is eliminated. Frustration and burn out are diminished. Innovation explodes. Talent is applied. The team scores together, more frequently. Everyone wins.
I dare you. Answer the 4 questions. Dream. Share. Live it. Create something no one has ever created before. Go get it.
So, where ARE you going? Share.
on January 29, 2008 on 1:09 pm
Where are we going?
$40,000 plus of gross profit per month selling 30 or more new and used vehicles.
Why are we going there?
To be the leading Auto Dealership in the SW Washington/Portland area.
Who is going with us?
Everyone at the Dick Hannah Dealerships
How are we going to get there?
By creating mutually beneficial, long term, trust based relationships with businesses and non-profit organizations that result in increased revenue for them in return for their help in driving revenue for us.
on January 29, 2008 on 1:13 pm
In the classic movie, “Joe versus the Volcano” Patricia Graynamore quotes her father, Samuel Harvey Graynamore by stating: ‘My father says almost the whole world’s asleep. Everybody you know, everybody you see, everybody you talk to. He says only a few people are awake. And they live in a state of constant, total amazement.’
If the questions Sue poses don’t amaze you…..don’t poke at you and annoy you…….if they don’t keep you up at night, then I propose you are asleep! These are indeed difficult questions to answer. Sue has asked me these questions, or variations of them, many times. It’s her way of saying WAKE UP! I like that. She’s caught me napping more than a few times over the years, and can tell when I am from 3000 miles away. Amazing stuff.
My answers to these questions change……..frequently. They shift from spiritual answers to career answers to personal answers to family answers. For me, there is no one answer. For now, I will share this – that before I die, I will walk on the continent of Antarctia, and stand at the South Pole. It’s a mysterious place for me, and it may be disappearing. It’s one of the most difficult places on earth to be. Who’s with me? I’ll get there by the will to walk. And when I’m done, someone will say ” I’m gonna be telling your story, Happy Feet, long after you’re dead and gone!”
Jim
on January 30, 2008 on 12:21 pm
The scary thing to me is what it means for those that aren’t asking these questions everyday! The implication of not knowing where you are going or WHY you are going there is scary. However, the sad truth is that many many companies and individuals dont ask themselves these questions.
Thank you for sharing these messages with us and thank you for making us answer the most important questions!
on January 30, 2008 on 8:49 pm
I am going to share these questions with my director, as we strategize and realign our department together–I like the simpleness of them … simple questions don’t lead to simple answers! These are indeed BOLD questions.
It is so easy to be pulled off a vision …during conversations that are confusing, when information is being interpreted multiple ways, when other visions are competing with ours. This always brings frustration to me, and keeps me always in a state of realignment, of trying to remember and revisit my vision and why I chose that vision (or at least my path if in fact the vision isn’t entirely clear).
I’m still formulating my personal vision –I had it spelled out for myself a few years ago … but I really met that vision and took it to the next level. Now I am on a new path (completing an MBA program by Fall 2008!), a goal I’ve had for some time and finally made myself believe that I could achieve it, that I was up to the challenge.
But where will that lead? I have a vague idea of what my vision looks like …. and I like the new idea here that others will go with ME, and not the other way around. I will be in control of my own destiny … and these bold questions have pushed me to move my thinking forward.
THANKS!
on February 4, 2008 on 1:57 pm
Where am I going? To a fearless leadership position founded on my love of inpsiring people to possibility that includes not only business results but community involvement, writing and other communication, and my love of food, cooking, and wine. I believe there may be a kids program involved because it keeps coming up for me but I am not sure yet.
Why go there? Because it’s easier to sit in the stands and assess those on the field than to get on the field myself but far less fulfilling.
Who’s coming with me? My beloved, other bold folks who bring: possibility, fun, dedication, leadership, can-do attitude, wicked sense of humor, and ability to call me on my own *%#t!
How? By continuing to broaden my circle of great thinkers, by creating a plan that is actionable, by being open to possibilities – the what you don’t know you don’t know…
Be daring one and all!
on February 11, 2008 on 4:40 pm
Where are we going? Were it is a joy to wake up everyday and feel like I contribute while at the same time being challenged.
Why are we going there? It is what my life is meant to be. Where my strengths shine. Where focus is automatic. And there is no “retirement” age.
Who is going with us? Those that are part of the program and can help push when a push is needed.
How are we going to get there? By exploring the potential paths and narrowing in on what ignites on a personal level. Then developing the detailed quantifialbe game plan.
It still feels vague, yet get closer through the excersise of examining. I’m tired of being asleep.
on January 26, 2009 on 12:51 pm
Wow, a year later after asking ourselves these questions, it is easy to see their power. Like the light we expect to see when entering “heaven,” whatever your heaven is, it is an ah-ha…imagine the angels singing. We all look for our own meaning in life and often don’t realize how powerful it is to look for the meaning of our work life. For a small company looking for our place in this world, answering these questions has been essential and we are seeing results. All of the employees can articulate the company goals and they can even talk to how they play a part in making them happen. Our daily huddles focused on these goals are as powerful as the scoreboard for the basketball player. We are finally seeing the “light” and look forward to what is to come.
In the “Carolina Way” by Coach Dean Smith, the message is clear, “Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together.” Leading and working by this philosophy helped UNC become one of, if not THE, most respected basketball programs in the country. I work every day to remember these words. So, what is next? What does this year hold for us? In the past, the leadership team would have answered this for the company. Not now…we ask the entire team and let them be our light towards shared success!