Without Vision Leaders Will Not Succeed

Photo Credits: Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Without vision people fail. OH Jin-Heyk is the number one archer in the world. He is the first Korean male archer to win an Olympic individual gold medal and his team took third place in the 2012 summer Olympics. Still, if you took OH Jin-Heyk and spun him around and blindfolded him, he would miss the target every time.

How could he be expected to hit a target he cannot see? Even the greatest archer in the world needs vision to hit the bull’s-eye. Too many companies are trying to hit a target while metaphorically blindfolded. They are working without seeing the target in their mind’s eye. A vision of success is sharp and clear and the end result can be seen in its entirety. At successful companies, every employee understands the vision and can use it to determine their daily course of action.

Vision is the very thing that causes people to follow with passion. Still, a company with a clear vision but no clear path to get there has nothing more than a dream.

A strategy must be developed and then followed to accomplish a goal or objective. However, while vision requires strategy, strategy alone is not vision. Visions are realized over time, they show progress, while dreams are always distant.

With Solavei, I saw many people’s lives being positively impacted by shifting commerce into something affordable and even profitable for members. I saw the components it would take to make this vision a reality. Back in October 2011, I wrote the vision down on paper and created the first Solavei vision video. When we look at where we are today and the work we are doing at Solavei, I see we are fulfilling the vision from two years ago. Each day, we are building the strategic elements to positively impact millions of lives and make this vision a reality.

Where will your vision lead you? Do you have a clearly defined target and path to get there?