A little while ago, I was reflecting on all the companies that I had worked with and all the projects that I had been a part of – and how differently they played out.

Some of them were wildly successful. Some were not. Why? What was the difference?

The people involved are always a factor, but I realized that in some cases it was the same people. The type of project can play a role, but that seemed too simplistic.

As I reflected, I realized that it really came down to the vision that drove the project or effort. Then a light bulb went off that really made it clear to me.

Any effort, project or program will only be as successful as the vision that drives it.

A simple and obvious idea, I know. But it is a truth that we often forget. If our goal at the onset of an effort is to make only incremental change – no matter how involved, committed or passionate the team, that is all that you will create.

This doesn’t just apply to those big organizational change efforts. This applies to any kind of project – big or small, technical or organizational.

I remember one of the most meaningful projects that I was ever a part of – an effort to migrate nine hospitals from individually run IBM System 36’s to a centralized AS/400 platform. It was a very technical project. Most of our challenges were mundane things like data migrations, re-cabling and installing new terminals. But to the project team, it was much more than that.

Our CIO crafted a vision for us that we were not merely migrating platforms. We were changing the way that we operated as an IT organization to take our company to the next level. That through our efforts we would be reshaping the very foundations of how our hospitals operated and the quality of care we could provide our patients.

That was a big vision. We even gave ourselves a name. We called ourselves “The Dream Team.” That should tell you something about the size of the vision.

And let me tell you, we moved some mountains.

We were committed to what we were doing. We were going to do whatever we needed to make it successful. Most importantly, we weren’t going to stop until we had realized that vision.

When I look out at those efforts that have not been as successful, this is normally where the problem lies. Every project, program or effort runs into challenges. There are always unexpected detours and road blocks. There is always inertia. But is the size and strength of the vision that will carry the team through these challenges

As you launch and execute your next project or program you need to spend some energy focused on your vision. And yes, even the most technical of projects must have a vision of what you hope to achieve. Simply having a project plan and checking off the boxes is not enough. You need to craft a compelling vision that can carry your team through the many challenges they will face to see the vision fulfilled.

Before you dive into all of the necessary details of running your project, ask yourself a simple question: “Is my vision big enough?”

It may be the most important thing you do.

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