What Do Visionaries Think About?

As I write this, I am traveling back to Atlanta from a two-day conference in Washington, D.C., on the bends and trends of direct marketing. These kinds of events are typically peppered with a vernacular that only direct-marketing geeks would ever appreciate—words like “segments” and “upgrade logic” and “buckslip inserts” and “regression.”
So, it was incredibly rewarding to listen to five CEOs from the world’s largest NGOs. Each presented a seven-minute talk on “the most critical things to remember when times are tough.” You would have thought they had gotten together beforehand and shared one another’s notes.
As I have reflected on this session, it caused me to see that visionaries think about things that others never consider. I realize I could be more inclusive if I were to simply focus on all those who are “leaders.” But at the risk of sounding cynical, the fact is, not all leaders are visionaries. There are many reasons why a leader might be in a place of leadership, yet have absolutely nothing to do with being visionary. Maybe it is a legacy position. Or maybe the one leading is doing so only because he was the first one there. As an example of this, I met with one CEO at this same conference who, when I asked about his background and his journey to the top of his organization, quite honestly told me, “It was by default! I was a professional fund-raiser, but when the executive team was terminated by the board, they asked me to fill in until the appropriate leader could be found.” A visionary? Probably not.

True Visionaries

So what do real visionaries think about?
Purpose. Without exception, every one of the real visionaries that day spoke about just how critical it was during difficult times to come back to the organization’s original purpose. Peter Drucker can be credited for being a prophet in the world of business regarding this very principle. If it ever becomes only about profit, an organization will quickly lose its way. One of the most emotional and energetic activities we do in our seminars is centered around helping people and their organizations become crystal clear about their purpose. In the case of Larry Hausner, CEO of the American Diabetes Association, it is really simple and yet profound: to stop diabetes. “When priorities are being set,” he said, “when plans are being made, when budgets are stretched, the filter we look through begins and ends with this simple question: will it help stop diabetes?”
What is the purpose of your organization, and what is your personal purpose within that organization?
Vision Casting. Visionaries never stop looking for new ways to involve others in their vision. This is where would-be visionaries—a group I refer to as dreamers—and true visionaries begin to separate. Dreamers are prone to hang around other dreamers and feed off of all things new and shiny. Visionaries have seen in their own minds’ eye what the world looks like on the other side of fulfilling their vision. They are always casting vision to involve others who can help execute.
Last week I had the privilege of meeting for the fist time Jon Albert, CEO of a relatively new nonprofit organization, the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation. With barely two years under his belt in the world of fund-raising, his list of corporate sponsors is the envy of any formidable charity. The first 15 minutes with Jon helped me know why: his cause is worthy—but so are many others without this kind of support. What’s the difference? Jon’s ability to cast vision was contagious! This is not someone who simply leveraged his assets in the business world to get his portfolio of supporters. It was nothing less than his tenacious and sustaining passion to cast a vision that was too big, too real, too emotional to turn away.
Conversions. The visionaries’ ultimate payoff? Conversions. “How many people can I get to think about, feel, and ultimately believe in what I see?” This mind-set is what makes visionary people the best in selling, the best in fund-raising, the best in leading, the best in getting tangible results. Until someone believes, there is no action. It is easy to pass on facts and figures. Yet so many leaders lag in results precisely because they believe that if they can just pass on enough facts, enough information, enough numbers, surely people will get it. But the mark of a true believer in your vision is that she is willing to invest herself—so much so that your cause becomes her cause.
While I was in D.C. for the conference, I took some time to stroll the grounds around the Lincoln Memorial. As I approached the memorial, I recalled August 28, 1963, when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rocked the world with his “I have a dream” speech. Though I was only 13 years old, how shall I ever forget the thousands of “converts” there and around the world who BELIEVED enough to invest themselves in Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream? This revolutionary leader had a knack for getting others to sign on to his mission.
If you are struggling with getting converts to your cause, people who are willing to make your mission their mission, ask yourself two questions:

1. Am I just trying to extract a donation or make a sale, or have I provided a way for this person/organization to be involved in the mission?
2. Am I just passing on information, hoping people will “get it,” or am I causing them to think, feel, and believe?

To all the visionaries out there, we need you more than ever. Help us find purpose in this crazy world. Cast a vision that is so big, so attractive, so compelling, that if God Himself doesn’t come through, you will surely fail. And finally, boldly ask us to stand, fight, help, follow—to believe enough to take action.

P.S. “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

Advertisement