He took over a failing operation, which he knew when he accepted the opportunity. He told everyone when he came that things would need to look different from the past, that the world had changed, and a new approach was needed. Heads nodded at this; they were open to trying a new way because they just wanted things to be better. Two years later there are no visible results or progress toward a better future. He’s frustrated and dissatisfaction is growing. The people he needed to have confidence in him are losing it quickly. He’s feeling the heat and wondering where things went wrong?
It wasn’t anything intentional on his part, he truly wanted to help. He began as you would expect by getting people excited about a different future. What mistake or mistakes did he make? Who knows, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was one of these that I’ve seen made multiple times in my career.
- You don’t have as much time as you think – Early in my career, talking about the future meant 5 – 10 years away and we created financial projections and capital expenditure plans to match that time frame. With a 5+ year runway, you have the luxury of time. But the world has changed since then and continues to rapidly change. Today we are an “instant” society, so expectations are higher than ever; people want change to happen “now.” Don’t lose sight that the future is only two to three years away, maybe less. This means you need to move quickly. While you want to be a change agent, pushing change on others, change isn’t linear. Accept that you’ll be surprised by some unexpected changes along the way that impact your vision, requiring you to adapt.
- Urgency of the present – When you are cleaning up a mess, there are plenty of things to tend to. You’ll also find it’s worse than you expected. The things that are piling up on your plate requiring attention are most likely the very things that helped create the mess that exists today. Working on them makes you feel productive, but it’s a mistake because most of them won’t help you in the future. Focusing on them will keep you from spending time where it’s needed, on the future. You need capacity in your schedule to work on the future, at least a third of your time to do things that will help you make your future vision possible. You must become good at determining what’s a true priority, things you can say “yes” to and those which you must say “no” to.
- Execution – There is an old riddle that goes like this. There are 3 frogs sitting on a log, one decides to jump off. How many frogs remain on the log? The answer isn’t 2, which is what most people will say. The answer is 3. Why? Because deciding to do something is vision, but jumping off the log is about execution, which is where many leaders fail. There is no doubt you must be able to create a vision of what the future needs to look like, how things will work differently and of course better. But you must do more than sell the idea to others. You must have a plan and be able to execute it. It’s a completely different skillset. If you’re the “idea person”, chances are that you might not have the planning and execution skills. Don’t despair, just partner with those who can help make your vision a reality. Let them keep you on task getting things accomplished. Don’t let your pride get in the way, the goal is to make the new vision a reality, not for you to do it all.
If you recognize you are making one of these mistakes, you have time to correct it but move quickly if you want to see a different future.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
