Vision is something that few people have the older they become.
Vision is like being arty and being creative, I believe vision is often undone from you around the early teen years and the older you become the less you get chance to really use or exercise it – depending on home and work life.
The closer to delivering every day, the more tactical you are, the less likely you are to be able to see differently, take a step back and see a bigger picture, a bigger trend.
People & Products
Many people will be seen as a data first person, show me the data and I will make something fit.
Or here is problem I need you to solve and more people can go away and solve a problem posed to them.
This is not right or wrong however it is what makes us all different and unique.
Unique To Humans
This is how us as humans are unique, we are led into different paths and forget we can make the change to see or think differently.
Humans are easily conditioned by their surroundings, this often leads to we then do not challenge ourselves to make the change or self improve to get this muscle back.
It is also fine not to want vision.
Or not to always see it.
Vision To Me
This is how I see vision, I am often asked about the difference between tactics and strategy, I actually think the other layer is vision, vision to see more broadly for a strategy to fit into with a number of tactics to roll up into it.
Vision is something maybe 5% of people have and actively work on and through.
Vision really to me, is to see differently, vision to think differently, vision to act and create differently.
This is often the difference between:
- Short term do-ers – 65% of people
- Midterm thinkers – 30% of people
- Long term changemakers – 5% of people, people likely with vision
For me this is why many people see things overly binary (black and white, 1’s and 0’s), because the vision or idea does not fit in their own set of boxes, they have to try and place into a box they have or they dismiss.
Vision Is Everywhere
Vision is often what separates the good and the great sportspeople.
Some players are two or three plays ahead or two or three passes ahead.
Sometimes it is the intangible, the unexplainable.
Excitement Vs Dread
Vision unlocks excitement in a tiny few, others feel scared or get anxious from something new or big.
Having vision is about seeing things differently, being able to understand it and see opportunity where 95-99% of others just don’t.
Vision is often what enables business people to act differently, challenge the status quo and the norm with new and fresh takes.
Vision is often extremely complex to articulate and the key part of enabling others to see your vision is to breakdown into the smallest chunks and compare to something else that is available or an updated version.
Think why we often have to compare a service to something else, examples like: The Google of X, the Uber of Y, the new Z.
Where Do You Land?
So what per cent are you? The 5% or the 95%?
Do you have vision?
Can you develop it?