Crafting Clarity for Collective Success: A Summary of Vivid Vision by Cameron Herold
By Helen Patterson
In Vivid Vision, Cameron Herold offers a refreshingly straightforward yet transformative approach to goal-setting and future-casting. While conventional wisdom promotes vision and mission statements that fit neatly on a business card or company wall, Herold challenges entrepreneurs, leaders, and changemakers to describe, in detail, the three-year future they want to create. He calls this detailed depiction a “Vivid Vision,” and it’s meant to energize your team, partners, and customers toward a clear, common destination. Below is an overview of Herold’s core ideas and practical tips for weaving them into your life or business, as well as some thoughts from our with heart book circle community members.
Why a Vivid Vision?
Clarity for All
A Vivid Vision is all about ultra-clarity. Picture the future state of your organization or personal life, three years out, and describe it so vividly that anyone reading it will be able to picture exactly what you envision. This unites everyone around a single narrative, creating a tangible “map” of the future.
Emotional Connection
Herold stresses that a strong vision engages not just the mind, but the heart. It taps into emotions, aligns people’s values, and ignites passionate commitment. For heart-centred organizations the emotional resonance of a Vivid Vision is crucial in attracting the right people and partners.
Actionable Inspiration
Instead of a vague mission statement, you get a roadmap. A Vivid Vision clearly states objectives in different areas, culture, team, finances, product, customer experience, and describes them as if they are already reality. This inspires creative problem-solving and directs energy toward meeting those goals.
How to Create Your Vivid Vision
Unplug and Dream
Herold recommends getting out of your usual environment to dream freely. Find an inspiring place—a park, a café with a view, a serene mountain cabin—to detach from the day-to-day grind. Use this space to imagine your ideal future three years from now. This is a chance to harness your creativity and an approach that resonates with the reflective ethos of forward-thinking companies.
Write It in the Present Tense
One of the signature tactics is describing the Vivid Vision as though it’s already happening. For example, don’t say “We will have a supportive, growth-oriented culture.” Instead, say “We have a deeply supportive and growth-oriented culture.” This subtle shift in language paints a clear, realistic picture that your team, clients and partners can emotionally connect to.
Include All Key Areas
Your Vivid Vision should address the key pillars of your business or personal life. These might include:
Culture & People: Describe how people support, learn from, and celebrate each other.
Products & Services: Envision your offerings, technology, or unique programs you provide.
Community Impact & Brand Values: Highlight how you’re making a positive difference, and what impact you’re making.
Financial Success & Growth: Project healthy sustainability and organizational milestones.
The author recommends focusing on fitness, faith, finance, family and friends, and you can also adjust this for categories that you believe are aligned to your goals and aspirations. You’ll have to pick up the book to go into the details and it is well worth it.
Collaborate and Share
A vital step is sharing your drafted Vivid Vision with team members, friends, and mentors for feedback. Ask them if they feel energized or if any areas lack clarity. This step also ensures alignment and building support for the vision.
Here’s what some of our with heart book circle participants had to say:
“Our organization lacks a clear vision and this book would be a beneficial resource to guide their future strategy”
“I plan to head to a coffee shop to start creating my Vivid Vision, loved this book”
“This conversation in our book circle helps me realize I can find ways to converge meaningful interests into my work”
“It’s important to explore balancing personal passions and professional growth while setting bold visions as an entrepreneur”
“As a group we can commit to writing our Vivid Visions and sharing it with the with heart book circle community as a way to be accountable and bring them to life”
“After reading the book and being in conversation with others, I now realize I can dream big and take risks”
If you are interested in reading another summary of the book you can check out this resource from one of our book circle participants, Avil Beckford here: Invisible Mentor Book Summary of Vivid Vision.
Sustaining the Vision
After you’ve crafted a Vivid Vision, the work is not done. Keep it visible—print it, post it, refer to it often. Incorporate it into team meetings or personal check-ins. As Herold emphasizes, the Vivid Vision shouldn’t sit in a drawer. It should be a living, breathing document that guides decision-making, sparks creativity, and becomes the heart of your projects.
While the author is not a huge fan of vision boards or brief mission, vision statements, it is encouraged to do this after creating your no more than four page written Vivid Vision. I love the idea of taking the Vivid Vision and designing some visuals, a vision board or a manifesto to enhance the written words.
Your Vivid Vision can be the anchor of intentional growth—one that aligns business objectives with deeper human values. By connecting passion and purpose into a clearly articulated picture, everyone gains the motivation to work collectively in building a brighter, more fulfilling future.
If you’d like to be part of a supportive community reading inspirational books on work and personal growth, connecting with heart-centred humans, consider one of our upcoming with heart book circles.