Compass

Maps only work if some things don’t change (eg terrain, signage, units of measurement). For example, “Turn right at the second blue sign,” doesn’t work if the signs get painted yellow and orange. Another example: “Go left at the big snow drift,” won’t work in the middle of Summer.If the terrain and the signage are ever-changing then maps will need to be ever-changing. That’s ridiculous; no maps evolve in real time, keeping up with the pace of change.A compass, on the other hand, only needs one thing to be permanent: Magnetic North, and by extension, South, West, and East. Everything else can evolve, change, adjust, but if North is North, we have a good chance of finding our way.Five and ten-year visions are like maps for your organization, your business, your church, your life. They rely too much on the assumption that nothing will change, that the terrain and signage will be the same then as it is now.What we need is a compass.What is the one or two or three True Norths that are not contingent on all that change? Name them, articulate them, practice them.