Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Where do organizations begin? A Leader's Vision


Organizations, great organizations, begin with a leader. These are individuals who are compelled by a unique vision to attain greatness. At least, this is what we hope when we look into joining a new team. The problem with this is that many leaders trip themselves up in the formulation of their visions. It is easy for anyone to have an idea, they come naturally to us. But how many of our ideas have enough foresight in them to be sustainable, and be the types of ideas that individuals can rally behind, and infrastructures can be built around? Once we ask those three questions, the number of ideas that can be classified as compelling visions seems to decrease sharply.

A vision is not an idea that drops out of the sky one day. It is an idea that is hewn and crafted through time, research, and passion. Innovation distinguishes Apple from its counterparts in its industry, correct? Innovation distinguished Steve Jobs from his contemporaries as well. Innovation in turn distinguishes great visions from average visions. A great leader has a great vision, and that great vision inspires the individuals within the company, and culminates in a great company. In the context of Apple, we rarely saw the hours upon hours that went into the formulation of the vision that brought us the second coming of Apple: the iPod/iPhone/iPad series. But it goes without saying that it was something that was sustainable, an idea people could rally around, and infrastructures could be built around it, because here we are almost ten years later, and Apple is the benchmark we all strive to. Again, it started with vision.

Vision was defined by a mentor of mine in college as “beginning with the end in mind”. Ask yourself when you build your vision, “what and who do we want to be?” Never forget that vision casting is inclusive. It’s not just what and who you want to be, but what and who you believe others will want to be. Your vision can attract great talent to you, or be the reason great talent spurns you for a competitor. Always have a team of advisors close to you that can either rally behind and validate your vision, or show you the gaps to help you form a stronger one.

Remember, it’s not so much about being right the first time as it is getting it right in the fullness of time. If the vision you expect to be the guiding force for your company is haphazardly put together, expect that you will never preserve the integrity of it, because it will be easy to deviate from it to overcome the obstacles of the present day. Vision needs to be an idea and belief that can and will withstand the test of time.

Vision is the beginning of an organization because it creates the pyramid of priorities. From vision, you can build mission. From mission, you can set goals. From goals, you can set objectives. Further, with vision in place, you have the foundation of your recruiting strategy, and the structure of your organization. Whenever I talk to candidates about our company, I make sure to talk about our vision. They should know who we want to be, because if they’re coming along for the ride with us, we don’t want to have to make pit stops to let people off along the way. The right people will believe in your vision, and you should select your candidates with your vision in mind. Those are the people that will not leave because they believe in the trail you have blazed, regardless if things are going well or not.

Vision can be your game changer. It can be what makes you like everyone else, or what makes you the pinnacle of your industry. It can be the beacon of hope your team clings to in its darkest hour or the scapegoat for why your company is falling apart. Be deliberate and intentional in crafting your vision. Below is a quote from an interview with none other than Steve Jobs on Apple and when he came back in the late 1990’s which perfectly sums up the power of vision: “Apple was about 90 days from going bankrupt. It was much worse than I thought back then. I expected all the good people had left, but I found many of them still there, and I asked them, ‘Why are you still here?’ They said it was because they believed in Apple”.

Stay inspired, be developed, be the change!
~AI

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