If more organizations truly aligned their most public face, their websites, to communicate their vision and strategic framework, these documents wouldn’t lose their power buried in electronic archives.

When I need to understand an association or nonprofit’s purpose and identity, I head straight to the “about” page. In most cases, I find their visions and strategic plans available here or at least somewhere else on their site. Rare is the association that boldly organizes its website around its aspirations for the future.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals is one of those rare exceptions. In 2008 NAESP completed Vision 2021, a vision for the principalship and the strategic framework guiding the association for the next 10 years. The vision goals of leading, learning and communities are now the centerpiece and architecture for the new website. And if you go to the “about NAESP” page you will see another link that further explains where NAESP is going and provides more detailed information about the vision and strategic framework. NAESP Executive Director Gail Connelly is taking other steps to get NAESP staff, programs and governance in a position to execute the vision.

The reason Signature i stresses aligning organizational identity as one of its core “i” methods is too few organizations get serious about taking this next step. If you hope to achieve your vision, you have to be willing to organize everything you do to demonstrate this priority.

How deep into the organization should you drive the vision? One of my favorite examples of proving you mean your vision is how the U.S. Forest Service Eastern Region incorporated its vision of courageous conservation into its annual awards programs. Within one year the agency was able to celebrate its own stories of success in moving toward its bold vision. As the agency says in its “about” page, “the vision is being incorporated into the Eastern Region's program of work and will shape our practices and the way we complete work on-the-ground now and into the future.”

This might be the best outcomes statement for what you should expect from your vision if you really are serious about making it happen. Your people on the ground and the people who come to you virtually should know exactly where you stand and where you are going.