During my 15 years at Amazon, we often started annual planning cycles with a Vision Planning process. This process required senior leaders to prepare a Vision Document. Here’s how they did it.
First, the Vision Plans centered on a different theme each year. Some themes were externally focused, such as “How to live in a world where the customer has perfect information?” or “How will Web Services change the way software is built?”
Other themes were internally focused, like “How to increase software development speed?”
In each case, every VP needed to come to the vision planning offsite with a vision document for their organization based on the assigned theme.
A great Vision Document typically covers 7 sections:
1) The Five-Year Vision
Start by defining the desired end state. Where do you want the business to be five years from now? This section is aspirational but should be grounded in reality. Think of it as your team’s answer to, “What does winning look like?”
2) Market Background
What is the size of the opportunity? Who are the competitors? What are the macro trends? This is where you show that you understand the broader playing field and where it’s heading.
3) Current State
Where are we today? As Jim Collins puts it, you must confront the brutal facts to achieve long-term success. Explain how each participant in the market creates value for customers, identify customer problems that aren’t being well served and describe the biggest challenges and opportunities for your team.
4) Strategy
How are you going to win? What are the key strategic bets? Which customers will you serve? What tradeoffs are you making? One of the most important things is to state what must be true to achieve the vision. Some you have control over and some may be outside of your control.
5) Resourcing
What people, skills, technology, and capital will be required? When will you need them? Suppose you need to acquire a new skill in the company. What are the paths to do so? Through developing existing employee skills? Hiring externally? Acquiring or partnering with other companies?
6) FAQ
Use this section to anticipate and answer tough questions. A good required FAQ is to ask and answer: What are the best reasons not to pursue this idea? The point is not to talk yourself out of the idea. Rather it is to combat the bias and excitement of a new idea someone is trying to sell.
7) Appendices
Include only what’s essential: relevant data, market analysis, org charts, etc. Appendices should support the narrative, not distract from it.
A strong vision document doesn’t have a fixed format. Teams should tailor it to their context. However, the best documents almost always have a version of the above traits.
Additionally, they almost always:
– Are narratives, not slide decks
– Use simple, direct language
– Call out risks and uncertainties, not just upside
– Make a balanced assessment that seeks truth
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