Vision for the Future

Sheri Kennedy • January 8, 2021

The Art of Applied Visual Thinking

The future is uncertain. That is a statement that has always been true, and is especially resonant now for most businesses large and small, teams and individuals. The good news is, if you can draw a PICTURE of a POSITIVE future, you and others will undoubtedly find that positive aspiration easier to imagine as a reality. Once you’ve mapped out your POSITIVE PICTURE, you can use visual tools to STREAMLINE the process for how to arrive at the end goal.

“Streamlined,” “positive” and “picture” are the 3 words I've decided to focus my 2021 goggles on, thanks to Deb's "Let's put on our 2021 goggles! Part 1" 2-part December Newsletter. As I made my lists of words in the various aspects of my life in need of focus, I realized that these words resonated across multiple categories. The word "positive," for example, refers to the kind of client work I will agree to do as well as volunteer efforts, donations, social and other media choices I aspire to make. "Picture" means I want to "put my money where my mouth is" by using visual tools to think, plan and track my more complex projects. I hope to waste less time and energy by mapping out the each project and "streamlining" to only essential steps.

One easy way to clear the mental clutter and find your focus on the future is to turn it into a Vision Map. This story starts with your company's current situation, and illustrates the story up to some point in the future to which you aspire. This map captures the essence of what will be better in the world because of what you do.

If you've taken the Applied Visual Thinking for CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING course (if you haven't yet, you simply MUST!), you might wonder about the similarities and differences between a Customer Journey Map and a Vision Map. While both map out the story of an experience, the purpose of a Customer Journey Map is to zoom in close and improve the customer's experience with an existing process, while a Vision Map is meant to take a birds-eye, broader perspective view and look toward a brighter horizon than might currently exist.

Here's how to create a VISION map with your team.

Download your Free Vision Map Template NOW!

First, what kind of story will your team tell? Click HERE to download a free Visioning template, or use this as a springboard to create your own template.
Next, add headers using words and/or icons to represent the Key Elements of your story. Tell the story as if it has already happened. Believe it is possible.
We Are Here / What stage of growth have we reached?
Accomplishments / What have we done well?
Resources / What do we have access to that may help?
Challenges / What do we need and need to do better?
Our Vision / What do we aspire to do and for whom?
Finally, create icons for each of your key elements. For example, how might you represent "Vision"? An easy go-to icon is an eye. There are a zillion ways to draw eyes. To get started finding your way of drawing eyes, download this freebie, starting with the 7 b asic shapes in Dan Roam's Visual Alphabet.