It's Not a Vision Problem

"Casting vision" is venerated as the premier leadership skill. But we don’t have a shortage of people capable of picturing what the future should be like. We don’t have a shortage of dreamers and visionaries. (We may have a shortage of people that can articulate that vision well, translate it into non-technical language, and inspire others to believe in it…but that’s a topic for another blog post.)

We simply do not have a vision problem.

But the challenge of social change, of conflict resolution, of industry advancement, of cultural and economic and political shifts for the better, is not in being able to envision far-off possibilities. It’s not farsightedness, first and foremost, that somehow makes getting from here to there more possible.

Billy Beane, the former General Manager of the Oakland A’s, didn’t create “moneyball” by envisioning a different game in the future; he noticed different statistics—the ones right under his nose that others didn’t see. The invisible was actually in plain sight. But no one was looking.

We don’t have a vision problem; we have an observation problem.

All truly great visions are hatched out of nearsightedness.
And nearsighted observation requires paying attention: the person within reach, the soil under your feet, the feelings in your chest, the house or apartment or van you call home.

All the problems in the world are around you—in your immediate world—if you look closely enough, intently enough.

All the solutions are too.