George Washington once said, “Leadership is not only having vision, but also having the courage, the discipline, and the resources to get there.” I couldn’t agree more! Vision is a contagious quality within an organization. It normally starts with the people who assume leadership roles, but eventually permeates the organization if messaged properly. The thing is, vision is nothing without the attributes Washington mentioned. As great as he was, he understood that you can’t accomplish anything of consequence without other key contributors. It takes people who see the world a little differently to have the sort of vision that can alter the status quo. These visionaries per se, can see what is invisible to others. What’s uncanny is that oftentimes these discoveries seem obvious once revealed. In this post I want to discuss the supporting attributes that Washington cites for having vision. 

Let’s begin with courage. It takes guts to enact charging toward something you believe in, especially if you’re the only one who believes. There have been several times in my career that I was rolling the proverbial dice, but I felt if I couldn’t bet on me, then who could I bet on? This dice rolling is something entrepreneurs are quite aware of. You hear people all the time who say they dream of having their own business. Let me go on record by saying that entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. In fact, in 2019, the failure rate of startups was around 90 percent. Being an entrepreneur is synonymous with having vision. It’s in an entrepreneur’s nature to see opportunity that others miss, and to have the courage to step-off into the chasm without a net. They are willing to take risks that others don’t have the stomach for. This sort of uncertainty is what fuels visionaries and why they accomplish the exceptional when others don’t. 

Visionaries are exceptionally disciplined. They have clearly defined goals and are extremely organized. You won’t catch a visionary sitting on their laurels or content with average. They have a contagious way about them, and people naturally want to be a part of their causes. They project a steeled resolve that instills confidence in their constituents. This resolve bleeds over into their words and actions. They are constantly thinking about what needs to get done next. It becomes a compulsion that propels their causes. But nothing happens without the commitment of the people who have bought into their vision. These early adopters are an essential part of having successful vision. You can’t achieve greatness without others. People may feel they have done it all alone, but that is never true. The truth is, it takes village—however that looks to accomplish anything of significance in life. 

Famous blind author Helen Keller once said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” We started Globalstar Consulting 21 years ago on a hope and a prayer. We thought we had everything in place, but man…  Did we have a lot to learn! We have come a long way since those early days, but our vision remains the same. We are still 100 percent committed to running the absolute best Infor Consulting firm in the entire industry. We are accomplishing this by assembling the greatest team in the industry and having exceptional relationships with our valued partners and clients. Again, people love the idea of someday having their own business, but it doesn’t just happen. It takes enacting a vision that is founded on integrity, intelligence, great energy, and unflappable determination.