Vision Matters: But AE Firms Are (Still) Getting It Wrong

Vision Matters: But AE Firms Are (Still) Getting It Wrong

At this point, you’d think we wouldn’t have to explain what a vision statement is. And yet, here we are. Again.

For some reason, too many AE firms continue to struggle with the concept. They either:

1. Don’t have one at all
2. Confuse it with a mission statement
3. Mistake a laundry list of “values” for a vision
4. Assemble all of the above into one syrupy, feel-good paragraph that somehow manages to say nothing at all

The result? Firms that think they’re marching confidently toward the future are actually just meandering in circles—led by a directive so vague and unfocused that it might as well not be written at all.

To illustrate, let’s look at two fictitious AE firms—one that got it all wrong and one that nailed it. If you recognize your firm in the first example…well, the good news is there’s still time to fix it.

The Firm That Thought It Had a Vision (But Didn’t)…A Case Study in Meaningless Drivel

Meet Nebulous Echoes Design, Inc. (NEDI), a 150-person AE firm that was very proud of its “vision.” Ask anyone on their leadership team, and they’d tell you they had a bold, inspiring statement guiding their firm (even if none of them could recite it at that particular moment…can’t blame them, really).

The statement?…Read more