The purpose of this activity is to imagine you have reached your scale goal and to develop a short narrative that describes the journey you have taken. Think of it as having scaled a mountain and looking back at the path you have taken, noticing the difficult bits, identifying where you took the right route, and basking in a sense of achievement.

Having an agreed goal written down is often not enough – each member of the team needs to have the same crystal-clear picture of what they are aiming to achieve in their mind. The purpose of this exercise is to flesh out the vision and to clarify it in the minds of each member of the team so that everyone appreciates what will be involved in the journey ahead.

First, reflect on your scale goal and use individual sticky notes to write down your thoughts on the following:

• Scale Goal: What is it like when you get there?
• Scale pathway: What route did you follow?
• Key achievements along the way: What significant things did you need to accomplish?
• Key barriers you overcame: What barriers were there and how did you overcome them?
• Critical success factors: What factors were critical for your success?

Once you have done this discuss your ideas and thoughts on each point as a group. Pay attention to where there is alignment within the team and where there is disagreement, and reflect on whether there are any issues that have the potential to derail the way you will work together.

It is not critical that you agree on everything, but the more you understand the aspirations of each member of the team, and the more aligned your initial vision for scale, the more likely you are to succeed.