I’ve been exploring why vision is so important to being successful. Can an organization survive and do well without a vision? I don’t believe it can. Organizations need a vision to find direction, to move into the future. They need a vision to give people in the organization something to strive for, to believe in, to belong to.

While exploring these ideas I came across an article that supports my belief in the relation of vision to success. Mark Lipton in the Ivey Business Journal Online titles his article “Walking the Talk: Why Visions Fail.” Lipton says there’s a lot of talk about needing a vision and a lot of talk about having a vision, but are the people in charge actually following through? His conclusion is that when the people at the helm do not follow through, it is because a vision evokes a lot of emotion.

Lipton sees a gap often between what the people believe in and what they are doing. It is about believing but not having the faith to carry it on. Or maybe it is just leaders being embarrassed about having to talk about their emotions about what they do and want to do. A vision is about personal passion. We are a lot more comfortable talking about process and productions, about developing plans and objectives. It is easier to leave passion out of the discussion.

Mark Lipton describes a vision as successful when it speaks to a wide audience, tells an engaging story that people want to be part of, challenges people, and creates a sense of urgency. This type of vision becomes part of the everyday actions of the people who belong to the organization. It gives a basis for making decisions and the growth of the organization. It is the building block of success.

There are challenges, and one is to get the whole organization to know and understand the vision. As a leader in an organization, you need to believe in the vision and talk about it constantly. Mark Lipton found that vision-driven firms earned their investors 17.69 percent more than the S&P 500 overall.

Why such success? It is because clear future targets drive the people in this type of organization. They have a greater level of commitment and loyalty, along with pride in what they are doing.

If you want to be successful, you need to develop a passion for what you are doing, based on the vision of where you want to be. People respond to passion, to a direction for the future. If you are a leader in a non-profit or profit organization, remember that it is all about people and the vision – the passion that you give them.