Visionaries focus on the formation of the question

On May 25, 1961, JFK announced the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade before a joint session of Congress. At that point, the total time spent in space by an American was barely 15 minutes. On July 20, 1969, the first man walked on the moon. It was indeed before the end of the decade.

We choose to go to the Moon. We choose to go to the Moon…We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.

President Kennedy, September 12, 1962

The speech above, just over a year after that announcement, explained “why” the President had taken that “moonshot”, set that vision that created a problem to be solved and without knowing how or if it could be done. That why, “to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills“, was truly to bring confidence back to the American people, who, in 1961, were increasingly in fear of their rivals in the space race (and the threat of nuclear armageddon), the Soviet Union.

As I write this, two days ago we saw yet another example of the UK Government blundering in their decision making. Yes, one can justify each individual decision if you choose to, but the way they have (mis-)handled Covid is clear. Why have they erred so badly?

This tweet from my friend David Ross, a brilliant creative in multiple spheres, concisely articulates the issue at hand:

Any form of visionary thinking focuses by necessity on the formation of the question. That’s why politicians aren’t visionary thinkers. They are too pressurised into starting with what they believe the answer is and trying to work backwards. A robust vision isn’t a maths formula.

— david f ross (@dfr10) December 20, 2020

Any form of visionary thinking starts with the formation of the question. Now that is simple and brilliant.

JFK was a visionary, so he set out a question that would focus and align the American people, the question being “how do we get to the Moon by 1969?”

Whatever happens with Covid in the coming months (and let us truly hope the vaccine rollout is fast and fair ), there are lessons to learn. This is one.