ABSTRACT
Developing a vision is by no means a serendipitous event or contrary undertaking. From a general perspective, most visions have a desired future state (i.e., a goal or objective-e.g., to be recognized as the world’s “City of Innovation”), a clearly defined purpose (i.e., a satisfied need or requirement-e.g., to build a sustainable economy based on innovative products, services, and processes), and values (i.e., guidelines for how to achieve the vision-e.g., to achieve excellence by taking something someone does well and doing it better). A vision typically begins with an ambiguous thought or idea, and, through an established framework of questioning, discovery, and definition driven by curiosity, it evolves into a more concrete and memorable vision statement that inspires an audience. An example of a vision statement capturing the end state, purpose, and value relevant to the vision of Dubai and innovation could be as simple as, “Become the world’s recognized leader in excellence through innovation.” In reality, good vision statements are short (i.e., 20 words or less) and announce what it is you are trying to achieve in a clear and concise manner. Again, they should also be easy to remember and inspirational. Finally, if the end state, purpose, and value statement cannot be captured in short form, consider a complimentary vision tag-line approach (five words or less) that people can easily remember (e.g., “City of innovation and excellence”).
