How to get buy-in to your vision

A.  Clear and compelling

1. the vision must have a strong “Why”.  A message that doesn’t have a strong why is just information that may educate others…but a message with a strong why is a vision that will move people. Step 1 - Make sure the vision burns within you before you attempt to transfer it to others.

Illustration of heat loss…when heat is transferred from one object to another, there is always a loss of heat.  The source will always retain the greatest amount of heat…So, if you want it to burn in someone else, it must first be an inferno within you.



1.  Regardless of how compelling the vision may be and how passionate you may be about the vision…the vision will fail it if is not communicated with clarity.

Step 1 - Make sure the vision is clear with you before you attempt to transfer it to someone else.



Nobody is going to be as inspired by the vision as you are…but the more clear the vision is, the greater the amount of “heat” that it will retain.

B. Relevant

In order for others to buy-into vision they need to understand how it is going to impact their life. When we were building our new building, one of the elements that I was most excited about was having an office…I had pastored for 10 years without any type of space to meet with church members…However, I realized that in order to get the church to buy-in, they would be more impacted by expanded parking potential, exceptional bathroom facilities and classrooms for their children to learn in.

When possible, share the vision through stories.  Rather than facts, figures and statistics, paint a picture of what the impact will be.

C.Share the vision strategically.

1. Don’t tell everyone at the same time. First share the vision with those that will dream with you Second share the vision with those that will think with you Third share the vision with those that will question you Finally, share the vision with those that will move with you
2. Don’t tell everyone the same thing • The 80-20 scale • Tell 20 percent of the people, 80% of the vision • Tell 80 percent of the people, 20% of the vision
3. Don’t tell everyone the same way

D. Repetition Share the vision often. Share the vision through various methods Share the vision through multiple voices.

• *Remove the expectation of 100% buy-in. The very greatest leaders do not get 100% buy-in.