Ellen didn’t say a word.

“Have you ever wondered why Vision Statements all sound alike?” I asked.

Ellen was still quiet.

“A Vision Statement is designed to describe a picture of the future, and in most companies, a future that is three, four or five years out. The conversation changes. And we aren’t very good at it.”

Ellen moved her head to think.

“We are very good at describing reality in concrete terms. It’s when we begin to think out, into the future, that we begin to stumble. Most Vision Statements sound alike because we have never sat down to think, conceptually, about the future. The conversation changes from a concrete world to a conceptual world and our words begin to fail us.

“Some give up, saying all this planning is useless. It’s never right, things change, so what’s the point?

“Without change, we can get by, short cutting this exercise without much damage. But, in this time, with so much uncertainty, this conceptual planning becomes critical.”