Brian On Software

A while back, my pastor lend me a small little orange book written by Andy Stanley, founder and senior pastor at North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Georgia.  “Making Vision Stick” is a 74-page book that deals about ways to successfully make your vision a reality.  Even though the author uses examples from the church ministry, you’ll find the concepts and ideas to be compatible in business, at work, in the family, etc.

From the back cover, we can read the following:

Your vision is the lifeblood of your organization.

It should be coursing through the minds and hearts of those you lead, focusing their creativity and galvanizing their efforts.  Together, you and your team will strive to make your vision a reality.

But in order for that to happen, you’ve got to make your vision stick.  That’s your responsibility as the leader.

And that’s what this book is all about.  The examples used by the author throughout the book are simple and concrete.  His ideas are very well explained and I like the fact that he managed to deliver his message in a concise manner without babbling too much or going on tangents.

Without giving you all the details on how to make your vision stick, the following is the process used by the author to help you in making your vision a reality:

1. State your vision simply
2. Cast it convincingly
3. Repeat it regularly
4. Celebrate it systematically
5. Embrace it personally

I recommend this book to anyone who is a position of leadership and is looking for simple ways to apply and nurture a vision to a team or organization.

NOTE: Okay, I can imagine some of you thinking “What does this has to do with software development?”. Well, take for example an architectural design or a software process you’d like to implement within your team or organization.  That’s your vision.  Now you need to make that vision a reality.  How would you go about it?  This little book provides some meaningful ideas to not only get buy-in for our vision, but also how to make your vision stick in the long run.