Turbo-Charge Success

Close your eyes for just a minute (after reading this, of course).

Take a nice deep breath and relax, clear your mind.

Breathe.

Drop your shoulders.

And breathe.

Now with your eyes closed and your mind clear, fast forward three years. You are just heading into Christmas 2026. What do you see? What do you see for your business? What do you see for your people? What do you see for your partners and other stakeholders? What difference are you making? Who are you serving? Whose life are you impacting and how?

This little exercise, if you've never done it before, can be quite intimidating. Not just because relaxing and dropping your shoulders is a near impossibility, but because you don't know what the real question is. You don't know what you're "supposed" to see. You don't know what the quick answer is and you have other things, more important things, to think about...

Wrong.

This exercise is one of the most important in the success of your business. Let me explain.

Running a construction business, is hard. In this fast-paced industry, where every decision can make or break a project, it's easy to find ourselves tangled in the day-to-day operations, not trusting others enough, to do it "right". Many of us wear multiple hats, juggling responsibilities, struggling to delegate effectively, and dealing with the all-too-familiar challenge of finding the right people for our teams.

If you resonate with these challenges, you're not alone. The journey from being a hands-on leader to a strategic visionary can be daunting, and there's a game-changing concept that can change everything: the Three-Year Vivid Vision.

Cameron Herold, renowned business strategist and author of many great books, including "Vivid Vision," introduces a revolutionary approach to setting goals and driving success. The Vivid Vision is not just another document; it's a powerful tool that can transform your business by providing the clarity and focus needed to align your team, streamline processes, and achieve your long-term goals.

The Power of Clarity

One of the biggest challenges faced by Construction CEOs is the lack of clarity. When everyone in the organization is not on the same page, projects can stall, mistakes happen, opportunities are missed and ultimately, we lose money. The Vivid Vision acts as a guiding beacon, offering a clear and inspiring picture of where your company is headed over the next three years. It gives clarity to the team (both internal and external) so they can feel empowered to make decisions, and fill their role to serve the vision.

Imagine a document that "vividly" describes your company's future – the projects you're working on, the culture you've fostered, and the impact you've made in the industry. This clarity not only empowers you to make strategic decisions but also serves as a rallying point for your team, ensuring that everyone is rowing in the same direction.

Reverse Engineering Success

The Three-Year Vivid Vision is not just a lofty dream; it's a roadmap to success. Reverse engineering becomes the key to turning your vision into reality. Break down your three-year goals into yearly, quarterly, and even monthly milestones. This approach allows you to identify the actionable steps needed to reach your destination, making the seemingly insurmountable tasks more manageable.

As construction CEOs, we often find ourselves caught up in the chaos of the present. The Vivid Vision provides a structured framework to help you step back, assess your long-term objectives, and strategically plan the path forward. By reverse engineering your vision, you're not just setting goals; you're creating a blueprint for success.

Embracing Accountability

Now I know what it's like "trying" to let go of control in areas of your business, it's scary! Delegation and accountability often pose significant challenges for CEOs in the construction industry. We like to know what's going on everywhere so we can be sure to pick-up where a team member will "inevitably" fail.

With the Vivid Vision, responsibilities become clear, and everyone understands their role in achieving the shared vision. They're clear on their role, their duties, their responsibilities. No longer will balls be dropped or fingers pointed – the accountability is built into the fabric of your organization.

In a Nutshell

Building your Vivid Vision is a process. The Vivid Vision, is not a vision statement. It is a 4-5 page document that clearly lays out all the details of your business, three years in the future. It is comprehensive. It is robust. And it is the primary document used to guide the ship to bring your vision to reality.

Once given a few minutes to think about it, it may be very easy to know what business you want to build. However, going through this process and making it crystal clear, in writing, so others can understand your vision, is the point. This document is intended to be shared with your internal team as well as external stakeholders, including vendors who will be helping you get there. You want to create a vision so detailed, so clear, that anyone reading your document and turning it into a picture, would come up with the (almost) exact same picture.

So how do you do that? The Vivid Vision is about the "what" you are working toward, not the "how". We are not considering "how" you will do this, in fact, get rid of that thinking for now. If you try to think about the "how" you will never imagine or dream big enough. This is the opportunity to push the boundaries of what you think you are capable of achieving in the next three years. What would excite you and scare you, just a wee bit?

Now that is out of the way, the following are the steps you go through in building your Vivid Vision:

1. Get Out of the Office! You will have your best chance of success in building your Vivid Vision if you do it somewhere that you find inspirational or will allow your creativity to flow without interruption.
2. Start Big and Wide. First take some time to consider the overall look of your business, what is the big picture or the overarching feel of your business, what are some of the immediate things that strike you that are important to the way you serve and operate.
3. Identify the Areas of Your Business. From the big picture you want to identify the core areas of your business that you want to include in your Vivid Vision. Think about everything from marketing and culture to operations, IT or your lines of communication. Select the areas that are important and relevant to your business and the vision you are creating.
4. Mind Map. Brainstorm the various areas of your business and make notes on what you want to accomplish, then take each of those point and expand on them. The more detailed you can be the easier it is for others to understand. Break your ideas down into as much detail as you can.
5. Get Feely. After getting the big picture and the areas to address, you want to start considering the details. When you look three years in the future, think with your senses. What do you see? What do you hear? How do you feel? What are people saying about you, what are they saying about your team members? What are your customers saying? Your vendors, suppliers or other stakeholders? The media, your competitors? Think about all the angles of your business and get a 360 degree view of what your business looks like.
6. Ask the Professionals. Once you get a good first draft written, you may want to enlist the help of a professional copywriter to turn your ideas into something that flows and makes sense. Something that is easy to read and has depth. When you can tie emotion to your vision, it's more compelling to those you share it with.
7. Inspire the Team. After finalizing your Vivid Vision, share it with your team. You can do this in a group setting and have everyone read a piece of it out loud. Use this as a tool for everything the team does. Eventually, after sharing it in-house, you will share it externally with any stakeholders you see helping you create the vision

The Vivid Vision is a dynamic and transformative tool that goes beyond traditional goal-setting. It provides clarity for achieving long-term success in your construction business. The key to the success of the Vivid Vision is to use it, share it far and wide and have it be a primary document you share with anyone that interacts with your company.

What's Next?

As you reflect on your current challenges and aspirations, I encourage you to explore the transformative power of the Three-Year Vivid Vision. If you find yourself struggling to delegate, facing difficulties in finding the right talent, or grappling with a lack of clarity, it's time to reimagine your future.

I'm here to help. When you're ready to take the first step towards a more streamlined and successful future, reach out. Let's discuss how crafting your Three-Year Vivid Vision can redefine your journey as a Construction CEO.

Here's to clarity, vision, and building a future that exceeds your expectations.