Eric

Vision vs. Reality

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words in August of 1963, he pulled from the writings of the prophet Isaiah to speak of a vision for a new America. That vision, though profound, was nothing like the reality his 200,000 listeners faced in their daily lives.

This is the essence of vision, though. It has to be about speaking something into existence that isn’t already there. Because only as you speak something different from reality can you encourage listeners

  • to believe for something greater,


  • to engage their energies to work toward change,


  • and to hope that this vision has a chance of becoming more than just vision.


As leaders, our job is similar to that of Dr. King’s. We have to seek God for the vision He desires for our organization, and then use our words and efforts to move toward that new reality.

We sit in a different America today, nearly 50 years later. An America that is much more like what Dr. King dreamed of than what he faced at that time. We aren’t all the way there yet, but his leadership and that of many others contributed to the change he was believing for.


Against Band-Aids? A temporary solution may be in order

band-aid

One thing I have the privilege of doing in my role is coaching leaders who are navigating organizational challenges. I sat down a while back and made a list of “one-liners” that commonly come up in those sessions. Here’s one that is often a surprise to those leaders:

“Sometimes a band-aid is the right move.”

Many leaders are facing a long list of challenges and things they feel need work in their organization. And most think that it is necessary to find the strong solution for each and every one of these challenges. But the reality is – you can’t fix everything at once. In fact, you will likely get so overwhelmed that you make little progress anywhere. What should you do?

And this is where the band aid comes in. A band aid is a temporary fix. A short term answer that even the leader knows won’t be the permanent solution.

You can’t fix everything, perfectly, all at the same time

In order to get the best solution for each of your challenges, you may need to band-aid some things while you focus on pieces that can be more thoroughly solved in the near term. Commit to coming back to those things down the road when you can give them the energy necessary. If it helps, make your band-aid list public with your key leaders and invite them to hold you accountable to addressing them AFTER you solve the more pressing challenges.

Be honest about your limitations. Write everything down and then pick the ones you can give your energy to for “now” results. If one of the other projects starts bleeding, “put a band-aid on it” and keep focusing on the areas that you have concluded are more urgent. Long-term success is worth the temporary sacrifice.

worker status links

A resource

Here’s a link to a Harvard Business Review article with similar insights: Ways to Defeat Stress

Secret of Success for New Year goals and resolutions

Statistics suggest that very few people are successful at achieving goals and resolutions. For many, this is due to not setting a plan toward success. A goal with no plan to achieve it is simply a hope.

Another factor though, necessary to achieve your new years goals and resolutions, is margin. Consider finances: if you are spending every penny you make on regular living expenses, you have no additional resources to give away, to invest or to pay down debt. Creating margin in your finances is necessary to achieve whatever financial goals you set.

This is also true with time. If your daily life is filled with work and personal activities that do not contribute to your goals (no time for exercise, e.g.), then you have to make time for those things by creating margin in your schedule.

With money, margin can come through earning more, but all of us are bound by the 168 hour week. To get more time, you either have to get more efficient or cut some things from your list. Look at your regular weekly activities and ask yourself which ones are less important than achieving the goals you set for the year. Find a way to cut and then fill that time with activities that will propel you toward success.

How will you create margin? And what will you do with it?