20/20 Vision: Company, Team, and Personal Visions

Our Tuesday morning discussions became more focused. Jim was considering his vision for the agency. At the same time, I was working on my vision for my life.

I had gotten to know Jim and his family much better. Alex was at Jim’s house frequently visiting Kristen. While dropping off Alex and picking him up, I often chatted with Jim’s wife, Carolyn. One afternoon as I waited for Alex, Carolyn confided in me.

“I know you and Jim are talking about vision,” she said. “This is so important for him. Until he creates his own vision for the agency, he’ll always be living in his father’s shadow.”

Shortly after my conversation with Carolyn, I was chatting with Jim about vision.

“I think it’s easier to have a vision when everything is going well,” I said. “When I was younger, I thought I knew where I was going and was sure I was on the right path. I married, had children, and things were going according to plan. But when Doug died, I was overwhelmed by grief. I couldn’t admit it, but I was also angry at him for dying and leaving me alone with so much responsibility. I dedicated the next thirteen years of my life to being a mother. It was the only identity I had. Thinking back, I realize I didn’t really have a vision. It was just a plan I hadn’t given much thought to. If I’d had a vision, it could have guided me through those hard times, helped me create a life for myself, and helped me be a better mother. I would have noticed sooner that my long hours at work were taking me in the wrong direction from my family.”

After a prolonged silence, Jim acknowledged, “The same is true for me. I always knew that someday I would take over the business from my father. Everyone in my family wanted it, and I think I wanted it, too. Or at least I never considered anything else. So maybe that was a vision. But it wasn’t a clear vision—because here I am now, president of the company, and I can’t seem to make it shine the way my father did. A vision should guide you. I feel like I’m going one step at a time, but I’m not sure where it’s leading.”

I smiled at Jim. Touched by his frankness and honesty and remembering what Carolyn had told me, I said, “Jim, I think you do know what your vision for the company is.”

• • •

It occurred to me that Jim already had identified the elements of his vision, but he didn’t realize it, because he hadn’t put it all together. I decided to remind him and see if putting it together might inspire him.

“The first week I met you, you told me the purpose of your agency. Remember? You said you were in the ‘financial peace-of-mind’ business—that the agency provided customers with financial security for possible worst-case scenarios. It also provided customers with the security of knowing they will be supported if they need to place a claim. Right?”

“That’s right,” Jim replied. “It’s something I learned from my father.”

“Do you believe it yourself?” I asked.

“Absolutely. Knowing we have a worthwhile purpose motivates me to work in the family business.”

“When we discussed picture of the future, you saw happy customers.”

“That’s right. They had the best insurance for their situation at the best price, and when there was a problem, they only needed to make one call—to us.”

“Also, you identified the values you believe are needed to guide people as they pursue that purpose, right?”

“Right again,” Jim replied. “The values are integrity, relationships, and success.”

“So you do have the essence of a compelling vision,” I said. “It seems to me all you need to do is put it together. So, tell me, what does it look like when everyone in the agency is guided by the vision and living it consistently?”

Jim chuckled and said, “Okay, Ellie. I’ll tell you.

“My vision is that our customers feel peace of mind knowing they have financial security for possible worst-case scenarios and that they will be supported if they need to place a claim. Our customers trust that everyone in our company has their best interest in mind. They have friendly relationships with the agents who take the time to understand what they need. Our agents find them exactly what they need at the best price. When our customers need to make a claim, they only need to make one call—to us. We take it from there. That same sense of trust permeates the agency. Every department and every individual is clear about how they contribute to our vision. We trust each other to follow through on commitments and treat each other with mutual respect. We’re clear about our roles, and we hold ourselves and each other accountable. We’re committed to getting our egos out of the way and working through disagreements with our customers in mind. We’re knowledgeable and competent in negotiating the most benefits for the lowest price for our customers, and we provide unparalleled service for them as we settle their claims.

“If we do this, our customers will be our number one marketers; 100 percent will recommend us to their friends and relatives. Our agency will be recognized by the city as an important contributor to our community. Every single person who works here will come to work each day enthusiastic about being here.”

“That’s inspiring, Jim,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you speak so passionately before about the company. You included everything—purpose, picture of the future, and values. And it works! How do you feel?”

“I feel inspired,” Jim responded. “It’s interesting. I sound like my father in terms of his energy and enthusiasm. But these are my words, not his. I’ve described a vision that will guide our people. They won’t be dependent on me to keep them focused and motivated. The sparkle and energy will come from them, living the shared vision.”

“I bet your dad would be really proud of you.”

“You know, I bet he would be,” Jim replied.

• • •

While Jim continued to contemplate his vision for the company and how to move forward with it, those of us in the accounting department were moving forward on our vision under Marsha’s leadership. Marsha said she had heard too many people complain over the years that they couldn’t have a vision because their company didn’t have one. She didn’t believe that. She moved forward because we had an urgent need for a vision and no time to wait for the rest of the company. From what I could tell, our accounting department vision was having a positive effect on the rest of the company by improving our relationship with other departments and serving as a model for how to create a vision.

Marsha told us she wasn’t concerned about getting ahead of the rest of the company, because if and when a company-wide vision emerged, our team could easily revisit our department vision to align it with the company vision.

Our team demonstrated:

You don’t have to wait
for the company to have a vision.
Vision can start anywhere.

• • •

Over the next few weeks as Jim contemplated his vision, I focused on my personal vision. Now that I had seen the power of a shared vision for my family, I was more motivated than ever to create a vision for myself. I had started this job with the attitude that I was at the threshold of creating my own life. Although I enjoyed working at the agency, what I liked best were the people and not the work itself. I still wasn’t sure where my life was heading.

I had figured out this much: My vision needed to be about the quality of the life I wanted to live and not about the specifics. I had a friend who was sure she would never be fulfilled unless she could find the right husband. Another friend was certain she would never be fulfilled unless she had children. Another friend believed that he would never be fulfilled unless he got a PhD. I noticed that people got attached to specific goals as though they not only represented the vision but were the vision. And often, once they achieved the goal, they weren’t satisfied.

• • •

One Tuesday morning I said to Jim, “I think I’ve figured out what my personal purpose and picture of the future are.”

“What are they?” asked Jim.

“My purpose is to ‘Help myself and others learn and express fundamental truths about ourselves and the world.’”

“That sounds pretty good,” said Jim. “What’s your picture of the future? What does it look like when you are fulfilling your purpose?”

“I think I’m fulfilling my purpose when something is expressed. It’s not just when something is learned; it’s when something new is created.”

“That’s a good start,” said Jim. “How about your values?”

“That’s where I need some help,” I said. “The values of the agency make sense to me and guide me at work, but are these the same as my personal values?”

“No,” Jim replied. “The values of the agency work for you because they are aligned with your personal values. That’s why you fit in here so well. But your personal values reflect what you care most deeply about.”

“I remember how impressed I was when you shared your values in a voice mail message. How did you identify them?” I asked.

“That’s not difficult. We all have values, whether we’ve spent time putting them into words or not. To find out what you value, ask yourself questions such as, ‘What do I care deeply about?’ or ‘What do I stand for?’”

“When we discussed our values for the accounting department, I wanted to include ‘having fun,’” I said. “So I guess that’s one of my values.”

“It might be. We all value many things, but what do you value most? What are you willing to put yourself on the line for? By being conscious about these core values, we can be intentional about the choices we make in our lives.

“A technique that might help you identify your values is called the Three Whys. Identify what you think is a value and ask yourself, “Why do I value that?’ Or ‘If I had that, then what would I have?’ Whatever the answer is, ask the question again. Do it three times. It will take you deeper to what’s most important to you. And as you go deeper, you will feel a stronger sense of caring. The more deeply you care, it means you’re closer to your core values.”

I spent the rest of the week experimenting with the Three Whys. What do I really value and why? When I get down to the core, what really matters most to me and why? What is absolutely essential to who I am? What do I stand for?

I thought of a friend who had told me he valued money. I wondered how he would answer the Three Whys. Was money really a value for him, or did it represent something deeper? Power, perhaps? Status? Achievement? Control over his destiny?

I became aware of three values that I held most dearly: truth, loving relationships, and creative expression. The following week I shared my values with Jim:

“Those values make sense to me,” Jim commented. “I suspect it was your value of truth that drove you to listen to your children when they were upset.”

He continued, “Now I’m going to ask you to do the same thing you asked me to do—put it all together. What’s your vision? Try writing for a few minutes and see what you come up with.”

I laughed and took the challenge. After a few minutes I looked up and said, “How does this sound?”

“Beautiful,” Jim replied. “Your vision itself is a creative expression.”

He paused a moment and continued, “It does make me wonder, though, how your vision fits with working in an accounting department. It’s not the kind of place you can express your creative side.”

An astute observation, I thought. It was true that my greatest joy came from writing the stories my kids had enjoyed so much over the years.

“I noticed you stated your vision in present tense,” Jim observed. “You didn’t say ‘I will.’ How come?”

“When I think about the future, it’s always ‘out there’—it never arrives. I wanted to support my picture of the future by thinking about it as a reality right now. I imagine there are a lot of ways, though, to express personal vision.”

“That reminds me of a story I read about Alfred Nobel, father of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Jim commented. “When his brother died, Nobel picked up a Swedish newspaper to see what they had written about him. The paper had gotten the two brothers confused, so Alfred Nobel read his own obituary instead. Alfred Nobel was one of the inventors of dynamite, so his obituary was all about dynamite and destruction. He was just devastated. Later, when his friends and loved ones gathered, Alfred asked them, ‘What do you think is the opposite of destruction?’ They all agreed it was peace. Right then he decided to chart a new course for his life so he would be remembered for peace.”

“So an obituary could be an expression of a picture of the future,” I remarked.

“It could,” Jim replied thoughtfully.

• • •

The next morning, Jim handed me a typed page.

“Read this,” he said with a smile.

He had written his own obituary! I read it with interest.

“Guess you’re going to have to start working on your golf game,” I teased. “Sounds like you’re doing pretty well with the rest.”

“I put the golf game in because I want to maintain my health and continue to enjoy sports.”

“Your pictures of the future create meaning for you, just as mine do,” I said.

“You’re right,” Jim replied. “My personal vision might not inspire or have meaning for anyone else, but it means a lot to me.”

• • •

“I’ve been thinking about your personal vision some more,” Jim said during our next Tuesday morning conversation. “It’s clear that your talents and interest lie more in creative expression than in the world of numbers. Why do you work in the accounting department?”

I explained that I actually didn’t like working with numbers that much, even though I was good with them. I had gotten a college degree in business because I thought it would give me security. I had gotten the job in the accounting department for the same reason. It was something I knew how to do.

“What I would really love to do is write,” I told Jim. “But I don’t have training and don’t know what kind of job I could get doing it. And to be honest, I don’t want to leave the agency.”

“I think you should talk with Marsha about your concerns. I hear there’s an opening in the marketing department. I think it would be a good fit with your talents, especially since you understand the purpose of our business so well.”

Within a few weeks, I was working in the marketing department. It meant starting at the bottom doing mostly copyediting and formatting, but I was learning things that would help me further develop my real talents and passion.

Making life even more interesting, around the same time I started dating Sam, a man I’d met through a mutual friend. I had no idea what would become of the relationship, but I was having fun.