Jeremy followed the advice, broke his team into four smaller teams who each worked on a small piece of the project picture. Sixty days in the future, the project would be finished. One way or the other, it would be finished.

Jeremy had set goals before, but building this picture of the future was a bit odd as a first step in the planning process. “Why,” he asked. “Why is this picture so important?”

“Jeremy, in the past, during your planning, you set milestones, or goals. Tell me, how excited did your team get when you published the milestone list?” Jeremy looked at me sideways.

“Exactly,” I said. “Teams don’t get excited by goals. Goals are simply measurements. They help us evaluate success, but that’s about it.

“It’s the picture, the picture of the project completed. It’s the vision that builds enthusiasm. It may be the only tool you have as a manager to create excitement, to build energy in the team. That’s why I want to see detail in your picture. Color. Smells. Movement. Bring that project picture alive so your team can truly see it. That’s why the picture is so important.” -TF