Vision: The Blessings of a Chosen Few?
When we hear others say that someone “has vision” or “is a visionary”, the statements are made in such hushed tones that we are led to believe that the person has been blessed by the gods. While the person may, indeed, have many blessings to celebrate – being one of a chosen few to possess vision isn’t one of them. Doubtful? Try this little experiment. The next time you are involved in a conversation with someone who has a strong interest in the topic you are discussing, ask:
How will things be different in the future?
What changes will create those differences?
What is going to drive those changes?
Their responses represent their vision for the future for that topic.
Repeat the experiment with people from all walks of life, with varying levels of education and socioeconomic standing and you will find that in the areas that interest them most, they have vision of what the future will bring. If people have the capacity to be visionaries, then why is it that so many business owners and senior managers bemoan the fact that their employees don’t seem to be able to look ahead – to see what might be rather than what exists today.
As we explore the development of a vision, what we find is that there are four critical elements to creating a vision – interest, knowledge, awareness and logical thinking.
Interest
People willingly invest their time and energies only on those things that interest them. That is why people who seem to be very insightful, almost brilliant, in one area seem to be naïve in others. Things that interest them create a desire to continuously