Book: Vivid Vision

Cameron Herold’s “Vivid Vision” introduce a powerful framework for envisioning and achieving future success for both businesses and individuals. The core concept is the “Vivid Vision,” a detailed, multi-page document that describes the future state of an organization or personal life three years out, as if it has already happened. Unlike traditional mission statements or vision boards, the Vivid Vision emphasizes rich, sensory detail and avoids focusing on the “how” during the initial envisioning phase. It serves as a “map of the future,” aligning teams, attracting stakeholders, and inspiring audacious goals (BHAGs) that drive innovation and growth. The implementation involves a dedicated writing process, an internal and external rollout, and a commitment to “reverse engineering” the envisioned future through concrete projects and actions. The framework is also applicable to personal life, covering key areas like Fitness, Faith, Finance, Family, and Friends.

Key Themes and Important Ideas:

1. The Need for a “Vivid Vision”: Herold argues that traditional one-sentence mission statements or abstract vision boards are insufficient for truly communicating a desired future state. A Vivid Vision provides the necessary detail and sensory experience to make the future tangible and understandable to everyone.

• Quote: “One sentence can never do justice to this kind of all-encompassing experience. It’s impossible to squeeze the level of detail necessary into a handful of words. But with a Vivid Vision, you can.”
• Quote: “It might be crystal clear to you—every shot in the scene, every word in the song—but everyone else is blind and deaf when it comes to the stuff in your head. And a sentence or a paragraph is not going to make them see the light or hear the music.”

1. Three-Year Time Horizon: A three-year timeframe is presented as the “magic number” for the Vivid Vision. It is long enough to allow for significant, even audacious, goals and innovation, but not so far out that the future becomes too uncertain or demotivating.

• Quote: “Why three years? Why not one? Why not five? What makes three the magic number? The reality is that if you venture too far into the future, the vision becomes very foggy.”
• Quote: “Additionally, the three-year goal inspires innovation. Not only is time stretched, but imagination is stretched, as well.”

1. Focus on “What,” Not “How”: A crucial aspect of the Vivid Vision process is to focus solely on describing the desired future state without immediately considering the operational steps needed to achieve it. This allows for more creative and audacious envisioning. The “how” is addressed later through reverse engineering.

• Quote: “Entrepreneurs spend too much time worrying about how something is going to happen. As a result, they lose their ability to dream about something great.”
• Quote: “Remember, the idea is to get the thoughts out, no matter how seemingly crazy. You can worry about fleshing them out later.”

1. The “BHAG” Connection: The Vivid Vision naturally embodies the characteristics of a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (BHAG), a term developed by Jim Collins. These are goals that are so significant they require a major stretch and may initially seem impossible to outsiders. A successful Vivid Vision should align the organization around its BHAG.

• Quote: “There’s a BHAG (pronounced “bee-hag”) quality to the Vivid Vision. BHAG is a term developed by Jim Collins… These goals require you to stretch your imagination to such an extent that people outside of the company probably think you’re crazy.”
• Quote: “A company’s BHAG is as important as its Core Values. And its Vivid Vision, which articulates that BHAG, is just as important, if not more so.”

1. Writing the Vivid Vision (The Process): The creation of the Vivid Vision is a personal, imaginative process for the leader. It involves:

• Removing oneself from the daily grind: Leaving the office and finding an inspiring location is recommended to encourage dreaming.
• Quote: “To begin the process of creating your Vivid Vision, your first job is to free your mind from the day-to-day worries of running your business. That means leaving the office… And no, it won’t work if you shut your office door or go to a conference room to work.”
• Using pen and paper: Avoiding computers helps prevent distractions and encourages a different mode of thinking.
• Quote: “Trying to disconnect with a computer in front of you is an exercise in futility… Before long, you’re going down a rabbit hole, having been sucked back into the daily grind.”
• Visualization and daydreaming: Actively imagining the future state as if it’s already happening and capturing the details.
• Quote: “I allowed myself to pretend everything was already happening. For example, I would close my eyes and try to visualize a speaking event… I’d see all of this, and then, I’d sit up to write every detail down in the notebook as quickly as possible.”
• Mind Mapping: A visual tool to organize thoughts around key areas of the business (departments, culture, etc.) as a preliminary step to writing the full document.
• Drafting and Refining: The leader writes the initial draft, then brings in others (like a writer or editor) to refine the language for clarity and lack of ambiguity. The final document should be polished and visually appealing, ideally four pages or less.

1. The Power of Sharing (Rollout): Sharing the Vivid Vision, both internally and externally, is crucial for its success.

• Internal Alignment: It provides employees with a clear understanding of the company’s direction, empowering them to make decisions and fostering a sense of shared purpose.
• Quote: “This company-wide alignment also aids your team in becoming decision-makers themselves.”
• Quote: “When everyone knows their particular assignment, they can function without having to try to do someone else’s job…”
• Quote: “Of those three guys, who do you think feels a greater alignment of purpose when he goes to work every morning? Yes, all of them are just making bricks, but the third guy understands why he’s making bricks, and he understands the significance of those bricks.”
• Attracting and Repelling: A bold Vivid Vision will naturally attract people who are aligned with the vision and repel those who are not, helping to build the right team and stakeholder relationships.
• Quote: “If you have been bold enough in your ideas, this will have two ef-fects: It will attract and repel others… If your scope is too small… or if everyone likes it, no one will love it. If this is the case, you have failed.”
• External Engagement: Sharing with customers, suppliers, potential employees, bankers, and the media allows them to see the future of the company, building excitement, trust, and potentially influencing their decisions to partner or invest.
• Quote: “What ends up happening is these outside parties play a role in your vision, as they contribute and conspire to make it come true.”
• Quote: “When you walk into that condo, you think, ‘Holy cow. I’m done. I’ll take the place.’ What changed? You glimpsed the future.”
• Quote: “When you share your Vivid Vision with the world, the world comes to accept it… The world that you described to them, they can now see, clearly, right in front of their eyes.”
• Competitive Advantage: Sharing the destination removes ambiguity and stakes out the territory, making it harder for competitors to copy the vision without appearing derivative.
• Quote: “Should anyone else attempt to plant their flag there, it will only come off as derivative, as if that company doesn’t have enough vision to chart its own course.”
• Media Validation: Getting the media to report on the company’s future vision provides valuable social proof and validation.
• Quote: “You need the media to buy in to the Vivid Vision if you want others to buy in to it. The imprimatur of the media is necessary…”

1. Reverse Engineering and Execution: Once the Vivid Vision is complete, the process shifts to identifying the specific projects and steps needed to bring each sentence (which represents a goal) to life. This is a process of “reverse engineering” from the future back to the present.

• Quote: “During all of these moments, it’s easy to become overwhelmed… No matter which source of dread you experience, the solution is the same: take it one small step at a time.”
• Quote: “Realize that every sentence in your Vivid Vision is a goal in and of it-self. And to bring about each sentence, a certain number of projects will need to be performed in a certain order.”
• Quote: “This is reverse engineering.”

1. The Vivid Vision as a Constant Guide: The document serves as a continuous reference point, like a map, for guiding decisions and maintaining direction, even when minor course corrections are necessary. It should remain relatively fixed for the three-year period unless major, unforeseen events occur.

• Quote: “The Vivid Vision is like the Ten Commandments in that it is set in stone… Otherwise, remember that you are like a ship crossing the ocean, tacking left and right and dodging icebergs when necessary, but al-ways you move in the same general direction.”
• Quote: “It’s just like orienting yourself in the wilderness—it’s crucial to keep looking at the map to check your current location and to look at the way you intend to go.”

1. Measuring Success Beyond Checklist Completion: Success is not solely measured by achieving every item on the Vivid Vision. The process itself builds team alignment, confidence, and a shared sense of purpose, which are significant outcomes.

• Quote: “At the end of the day, most people will wonder, ‘Well, there’s a bunch of stuff on our Vivid Vision that didn’t turn out to be true. So does that mean we’ve failed?’ The answer: Absolutely not!”
• Quote: “One of the purposes of the Vivid Vision is to create alignment on your team.”

1. Applicability to Personal Life: The principles of the Vivid Vision can be applied to an individual’s personal life to live more consciously and proactively. This involves envisioning the desired future self across key areas and sharing it with loved ones for support and accountability.

• Quote: “Is it possible to lean out into the future and examine your personal life? The answer is yes.”
• Quote: “Once again, you want to describe everything you see as you look around—only now you’re looking around your home, rather than your office… Aim high.”
• Quote: “Your personal life is also departmentalized, if not quite as formally. These categories compose what I call the 5 F’s: Fitness, Faith, Finance, Family, and Friends.”
• Quote: “If you don’t share these components with people, how can they real-ly help you? How can they be sensitive to your needs?”

1. Family Vivid Vision: Couples can create a shared Vivid Vision for their family, aligning their goals and desired future state in areas beyond just practical or financial considerations. It’s recommended that each partner write their vision separately before combining them.

• Quote: “Why would you risk making the family journey without designing what you want your family life to be like?”
• Quote: “If you’re raising a child or children as a couple, it’s important that you and your spouse are both on the same page… both individuals need to be involved in the writing process. But this doesn’t mean that the document is written jointly.”

Examples Provided:

• Cameron Herold’s first Vivid Vision for BackPocket COO (2010), detailing his aspirations in areas like Overall, Success, How I Feel, Mentor Board of Advisors, Culture and Spirit, Communication, Customer Service, and My Family and Friends.
• Sample Vivid Vision for BlueGrace Logistics (2017), highlighting achievements in revenue, franchise growth, company culture (“THE Place to Work”), brand, sales, and franchising.
• Sample Vivid Vision for Fish Marketing (2017), covering mission, departments, new business goals, and partner relationships.

In Conclusion:

Cameron Herold’s “Vivid Vision” framework provides a structured and effective method for creating a compelling future narrative. By focusing on detailed, sensory descriptions of the desired state three years out and actively sharing this vision, organizations and individuals can foster alignment, inspire action, and significantly increase their chances of achieving audacious goals. The process is presented as a critical missing piece for driving significant growth and living a more conscious and purposeful life.

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