Power of Vision 

John Leach, CEO, Winning Pitch   

December 2010

The term vision has featured so prominently in the research into what makes successful leaders and businesses.  Read the biography of any famous or accomplished individual and they will refer to the power of their vision and how it motivated them to go on and do great things.



In the SME world and for any leader of an entrepreneurial business, selling the vision to staff, suppliers and customers can be a challenging task - getting everyone on board can be equally draining both emotionally and spiritually.  Quite often the founder or leader of a business can see the vision so clearly - what success looks like, the business in three years time, the new product being launched or new markets being served - but getting someone to see what you can is hard.  Here we can draw the comparison with madness - lunatics can see what others can't - so not surprisingly many entrepreneurs can be viewed as a little strange at times.   Well I am a great believer that your expectations shape reality and all ambitious entrepreneurs should have clarity of what they want to achieve down to the finest detail - otherwise what are you aiming for?



But how do you sell it to others?  To achieve your vision in business, more often than not you will have to get others on side, this includes - staff,  partners and other stakeholders.  It is unlikely you will achieve what you want on your own.  This means you have to create followers and to be a great leader you have to follow as well - this means listening to others, taking on board thoughts and views and respecting opinions.



As with any other selling job, getting others bought into the vision means - you personally must be respected, have knowledge, explain the reasons as to why the vision is important, keep things simple and most of all talk about the things you have achieved as well as the things you want to achieve.  Define very clearly the journey you are going on and the steps, communicate clearly along the way the landmarks and celebrate key milestones, over time results start to emerge. Beware of the people who steal your energy because in challenging times you will start to doubt yourself.  Have self belief and  practice (BYC) - believe you can mentality.



There are many blurred lines between the terms vision, goals, passion and purpose. Many people claim to have a vision or goal, the reality is they don't - it's a hallucination. You know when you have a vision because it burns deep within often to a point of obsession.



In business define your goals and visions then find your ambassadors and disciples and together you can make it happen!