October 15, 2007

Vision, Goals, and Enterprise Architecture

In the book, First Things First by Stephen Covey, the author provides insight into setting vision and goals that can be applied on a personal and leadership level.

What is VISION?

“The power of vision is incredible!”

“Vision is the best manifestation of creative imagination and the primary motivation of human action. It’s the ability to see beyond our present reality, to create, to invent what does not yet exist, to become what we not yet are. It gives us capacity to live out of our imagination instead of memory.”

“The passion of vision…we call it ‘passion’ because this vision can become a motivating force so powerful it, in effect, becomes the DNA of our lives. It’s so ingrained and integrated into every aspect of our being that it becomes the compelling impetus behind every decision we make. It is the fire within—the explosion of inner synergy…this passion can empower us to literally transcend dear, doubt, [and] discouragement.”

What are GOALS?

“When we set a goal, we’re saying, ‘I can envision something different from what is, and I chose to focus my efforts to create it.’ We use our imagination to keep the goal in mind, and independent will to pay the price to achieve it.”

“Self-awareness prompts us to start where we are—no illusions, no excuses—and helps us to set realistic goals. On the other hand, it also doesn’t allow us to cop out with mediocrity. It helps us recognize and respect our need to stretch, to push the limits to grow. So much of our frustration in life comes as a result of unmet expectations, the ability to set goals that are both realistic and challenging goes a long way to toward empowering us to create peace and positive growth in our lives.”

“A principle-based goal is…the right thing, for the right reason, in the right way.” This is based on the following:
  • Conscience—“through conscience, we connect with the passion of vision and mission and the power of principles.”
  • Creative Imagination—“through creative imagination, we envision possibility and synergistic, creative ways to achieve it.”
  • Self-Awareness—“though self-awareness, we set goals with realistic stretch and stay open to conscience-driven change.”
  • Independent Will—“through independent will, we make purposeful choices and carry them out; we have the integrity to walk our talk.”

As EA practitioners, we are leaders in our organizations. As leaders, we need to have a clear vision for motivating, synergizing, and giving us the imagination to see beyond our present reality. Additionally, as EA leaders, we need to develop principle-based goals that focus efforts, are challenging yet realistic, and help us to maintain our integrity.

EA leaders must have a vision and goals for not only the development of the EA program to further IT planning and governance and enhance decision-making in the enterprise, but EA leaders must also have vision and goals for the enterprise itself—what is the right things for the organization, for the right reason, and in the right way—this is manifested in the EA target architecture and plans.

Of course, the executives and subject matter experts in the organization ultimately have the vision and goals that drive mission execution and performance. However, EA is in a unique position to integrate those various views and bring synergy and consensus to a way ahead.

EA is an awesome responsibility to lead. EA is a stewardship, a trust. As stewards, EA is called to exercise responsible care over the enterprise baseline and target architectures, IT plans, and governance.
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