Vision Before Problems

“What is this company on its best day?”

That’s the question I ask leaders — especially when they find themselves in new jobs.

Lately, I’ve been speaking with a lot of folks who suddenly find themselves in new gigs.

Of course, the first thing a leader wants to do is tell me all the problems.

But that can wait. Plenty of time for problems. And inventory ain’t ever an issue there.

No, I want to hear about the dream first. I want to see what you saw in your mind’s eye that got you excited about this new post. I want to envision what you are imagining that’s not there now.

And once you come up with this Vision and say it out loud, write it down. On paper. Pen, pencil, or Sharpie. But write that shit down!

And once you have this Vision, then you can look at the problems. Only now you have a lens through which to see them. And with this Vision/lens, you’ll start to see the delta between where you are and what you want to build.

You’ll start to see which problems to prioritize. Which problems to get to next. Which problems to ignore.

It’s so easy to get lost in the problems.

That’s why Vision is your first move.

What do you see? What can this thing be?