Change Vision

If your vision fits on a motivational poster but not into a daily decision, it's not a vision. It's a slogan.

A change vision is a concrete, communicable picture of what the future looks like after the change succeeds. An effective vision answers two questions: what’s broken (or what opportunity exists), and what does better look like in terms that resonate with people involved in the change?

John P. Kotter’s research showed that failed transformations almost always lacked a clear vision or had one too abstract to guide decisions. “We’re going to be more agile” isn’t a vision. “Teams ship to production independently, without waiting on a shared release event” is.

Good visions are imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible, and clear enough to explain in a few minutes. They are also adaptable to different audiences and rooms.

We use change visions as the anchor for our Change Vision & Strategy workshop. The exercise maps current-state behaviors to desired end-state behaviors for specific roles, which keeps the vision grounded in observable reality rather than aspirational slogans or hype-driven marketing speak.

A guiding coalition drafts and owns the vision, but it only sticks through relentless communication across every channel available. We also provide a Change Vision Evaluation prompt that scores a draft against seven dimensions, including a “So What?!” test that clarifies the purpose of intended change.

Resources

• John P. Kotter, “Leading Change” (Harvard Business Review Press, 1996)
• Change Vision Evaluation — AI-assisted evaluation against seven scoring dimensions
• Guiding Coalition — the coalition that drafts, owns, and reinforces the vision
• Quick Wins — early wins that prove the vision is achievable