Visionary

One of my most recent “re-reads” is a great book by Jim Collins, “Good to Great.” Why some companies make the leap… and others do not.

Chapter 1 is titled, “Good is the enemy of great.” The book discusses the fact that we don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of companies never become great, precisely because the vast majority become quite good… and that is their main problem.

Another part of the book discusses the importance of a visionary. Whether it be your family, your athletic club, your investment portfolio or the company you work for, in order for it to go from good to great, it requires a visionary. Whether that person is you or someone else, what really matters is that there is a true visionary who looks beyond the boundaries of good to achieve greatness. Is your family doing good or are they doing great? Are you in good health or are you in great health? Is your company doing good or is there a visionary who is looking outside the box to ensure that your company achieves greatness? What is the core difference between good and great? Well, before execution there must be a clear vision. That vision may be blurred at first but with intense focus over time, the picture of greatness becomes more and more clear. Once you have conditioned your mind to think outside of the box and condition your actions to move outside of the box, things that were out of focus before become crystal clear and greatness becomes attainable.

Hats off to all of you visionaries out there. Thank you for looking beyond your confines to see what is beyond the boundaries of the box. The view from outside the box is so much better than good, it’s great!

Have a great weekend.