This is the time of the year that many commit to earlier plans of their 'dreamed' holiday destinations. The planning, waiting, anticipation, excitement (i.e anxiety and what-not), all gradually boiling up till the day they depart for their destination. And off they 'fly'; some in 'soul-searching' endeavors, others, for mere pleasure of being away from familiar surroundings, while a few, with a plain aim of 'recharging' their almost fully-used 'batteries'.
Well, upon coming back from their 'destinations', did we not notice some differences in their observable behaviors, physical appearances, or cognitive inclinations? Some came back with a 'fresher' look and a renewed 'zest' to 'conquer' the world. Some, as if by a 'twist' of circumstances, came back feeling more 'regretful' and 'discontented' than before, of things or events happening in their lives. Alas, the endeavor did not seem to change things for the better.
Surely, we did notice the 'usual' as well. There were those who 'remain' the same as ever before; who, without a second thought, proudly announced their 'next' destination and 'booked' their dates of departure and 'blocked' the calendar should there be any possibilities of 'professional' events 'interfering' with their 'personal' plans. All in the name of being 'proactive'.
Let's take some time to ponder on what actually do these destinations mean to us. As a 'respite' or a 'final' destination? It is, of course, in how we perceive our destination to be that will to a substantial extent, determine the kind of 'journey' that we will embark on. A long-planned journey indicates a carefully-chosen destination guided by a clear purpose and an awareness of one's capacity and capability in reaching the destination. To those embarking on a long journey, hardships, hurdles, challenges, setbacks, disadvantages are some of the things they foresee for themselves and anticipate. In preparation, they seek to equip themselves with the necessary 'resources' to help them successfully 'arrive' at their destination.
Likewise, short frequent journeys are indication of multi-placed destinations; though not necessarily truly satisfying. The plans are often not carefully-thought of since the aims are rather short-termed and the decisions are of ad-hoc nature. The more destinations one wants to go, the more 'ambitious' one becomes and the more urgent the decisions have to be made which results in the more 'hastily-thought' of plans. In fact, the more ambitious one becomes, the more obscured the purposes turn out to be and the more ignorant of one's actual capacity and capability to attain them. Finally, the more 'tiring' and 'burdensome' the journeys will be and the more likely one tends to forget about the actual purposes of going to the destinations.
This, actually is my analogy of vision and mission. In any organization, it is the leaders who provide their subordinates with the vision of what and where the organizations will be in the future in comparison to the past and present performance. It is the leaders who determine whether to go for a long-termed or a short-termed goal. It is the leader, with some feedback from his or her people, who will decide on the 'missions' that the organization will embark on; taking into account its present capacity and capability to meet and counter the demanding challenges and setbacks . In retrospect, should the current capacity and the capability of the organization fail to match the vision and missions, then, it is imperative that the leaders actively seek to 'acquire' critically needed resources.
It is, nevertheless, an understatement to say that leaders who do not have visions will not be able to provide clear direction towards achieving greater organizational success. In fact, some may succeed in carving further achievements merely by continuing from what was left by their predecessors who had earlier laid out a very good and clear long-termed vision for the organization and the course of directions and actions to pursue. The guidelines : vividly understand the vision and missions, collectively own them with the other members in the organization, clearly communicate the aims and goals, strategically plan the necessary actions and contingencies, rightly place the right people for the right tasks and constantly gain feedback and do reflection regarding the performances.
Well, it is definitely this time of the year that we always do some reflection on our performance, both as individuals and as a collective unit. With better insights on our strengths and weaknesses as well as successes and failures, let's build new resolutions for future missions towards greater achievement for our organization.
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