Change Agent: Framework Steps 5 & 6

5. How do you read the map?

You will probably be creating new things and working with new ideas, so there is no road map. You are in undiscovered country. Here are a few tips for navigation.

Seek out others with similar visions and ask their advice. You will likely find allies and co-creators to collaborate with as you activate your vision.

Have I mentioned how important it is to share your vision with others? The key to success is that your vision must be contagious! The projects you choose should naturally gain followers. You in turn have a responsibility to those that follow you.  True leaders serve!

Focus on learning everything you can about those you serve. They will show you the way by their actions more than their words. People naturally want to support and encourage you. That support needs to be in the form of taking actions that are measurable.

Build data collection into your processes. Most web sites have analytics built in or available as a plug-in option. Save as much data as you can reasonably collect because you typically do not know what the questions will be in the future. Collecting the raw data (even when it initially seems pointless) allows you to have data to mine for the answers you do not even know how to ask today.

It is important to return to your vision and think about it often. That keeps you focused on the true point. Sometimes you are so busy innovating, iterating, pivoting and managing the Everyday that you lose track of what or where it is you were going in the first place. 

Sometimes quietly contemplating your vision allows you uncover refinements. Make sure you include time for reflection – maybe not daily but certainly weekly.

6. Keep it going!

You will be repeating steps 3, 4 and 5 a lot. You will be repeating the whole framework, too. This is natural in the process of validated learning. Write a plan to follow. Use a pencil and have a big eraser. This is the first step toward non-attachment. Plans need to evolve, boundaries change and the envelope gets pushed. It is what visionaries such as you do! When you accomplish the first chunk, celebrate! Then move on to the next chunk.

As more of your work gets done, it is natural for progress to accelerate. Additionally, if you are co-creating, accretion (the growing together of separate things or processes) tends to happen, as if by magic.

As your vision refines, it begins to seem natural, more play than work. Tom Jones, a prolific singer/songwriter since the 1960s, made the comment that he has not worked since 1962. He wasn’t joking.

In conclusion, here are the signs of a healthy cycle of action as you activate your vision:

·         The Vision is refined as you learn more

·         Strategy is driven by vision and iteration

·         Tactics pivot constantly

Coming next

A case study on a person with a personal vision that is literally out of this world! Chunks of his vision include founding nearly 2 dozen companies, colleges and foundations. Better yet, we share a vision for large organizations.