A positive vision to move towards
Close your eyes. Dream big. What’s your bold goal for your business? For the world?
I had a brilliant mentor who said (regularly and often!) that if you want people to change or to deliver something then you need to give them a ‘tangible vision’ to move towards. A clear destination, something that motivates them and helps them know what to do. This is what we need as a society when it comes to sustainability. And it’s what you need as a business if you want to have a meaningful impact. A clear, positive vision to move towards.
The pictures are all wrong
So many of the stories we hear and read are negative, dystopian even. Whether that’s to do with the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, conflict, mental health and wellbeing, the cost of living, community cohesion.
Those stories do create vivid images in our minds. But they don’t help us imagine a better future. They don’t encourage action – they create fear and paralysis.
To be motivated to act and open to changing, we have to be inspired to move towards something. Something that looks and feels so much better than today. At a global and societal level, we’re missing that vision. And what vision there is isn’t being presented in a way that captures our hearts and our imaginations.
What picture are you painting for your business?
Every single business has room for improvement. Opportunities to become kinder to people and the planet. Opportunities to integrate commercial success and doing good so that they reinforce each other. Opportunities to be part of a larger societal change.
What’s the picture you’re painting for your business’s future? Are you providing a clear vision that your team understand and want to move towards? What about all your other stakeholders – customers, suppliers, investors, communities where you operate?
An alternative vision
Let’s stop talking about starving polar bears, dead coral and forest fires. Let’s start talking about an exciting future. Let’s get people saying:
“I want some of that … where do I sign up? What do I need to do?”
Here are ten things that excite me. Tangible bold goals which could be used as a catalyst for innovation and creativity.
Fresh air everywhere. Not rushing to hospital with wheezy children or planning running routes based on pollution levels.
Rivers that run clean and clear.
Everyone paid and treated fairly.
People, businesses and governments build relationships for the long term.
Businesses and communities that include rather than exclude and divide.
We break down waste into valuable materials that can be used again and again and again…
Global collaborations on global problems – collaborations between sectors, countries, businesses (including competitors).
Urban areas filled with buildings that breathe. They filter our air, keep us cool and provide a home for birds and mini-beasts. They’re beautiful and calming too!
Businesses (and people and governments) speak the truth and we know we can trust them. They're transparent and honest and they own up to their mistakes.
Everyone is safe and feels safe.
What excites you?
A vision for your business
What’s your bold goal for your business? A big exciting ambition that excites people and encourages them to find ways of making it real.
That clear, tangible vision is the starting point when it comes to having a meaningful impact through your business. If you need help painting that picture and engaging your team then get in touch.
For more practical advice on how to get clarity on what steps to take to scale up your impact, check out my FREE Scale Up Your Impact Guide: