Entrepreneurs must have a “stretch” Vision to truly inspire, yet is means little if they don’t make it into a reality. I’m all about “Massive Impact”, so I love to work with brave leaders ready for that and ready to find the balance between a big Vision and knowing, learning then doing what it takes to make that Vision a reality.
Today am inspired by a post from Prof Galloway called “Tell me a Story” that talks in detail about how Entrepreneurs must find a balance here. He begins:
Entrepreneur is a synonym for salesperson, and salesperson is the pedestrian term for storyteller. Pro tip: No startup makes sense. We (entrepreneurs) are all impostors who must deploy a fiction (i.e. story) that captures imaginations and capital to pull the future forward and turn rhyme into reason. No business I have started, at the moment of inception, made any sense … until it did. Or didn’t. The only way to predict the future is to make it.
This is not the same as lying. There’s a real distinction between an entrepreneur and a liar: Entrepreneurs believe their story will come true. This requires confidence … and delusion. It helps to be somewhat detached from reality — to assume that, for whatever reason, you are the one who can see into the future, and that in the new world your product/service will be needed and successful, despite overwhelming evidence (i.e. the current reality) that it’s not. A reality distortion field if you will.
Scott Galloway
Doing what someone else has already done, doing “more of the same”? Blah 😉
However, “We are here to put a dent in the universe” is a famous line from Steve Jobs and one that guides and inspires me to this day and why, among my collection of framed prints from Gaping Void, the one I share here is a constant reminder to “make a dent”.
There is a spectrum here, we all must find our own place of balance for our big ideas, big enough to inspire, yet with capability, capacity, energy and more in order to make it happen.
The following three quotes span that spectrum from dream-like to pragmatic. Sit with all of this for a moment (and do read Scott’s post), then consider where you are on the Vision>Reality spectrum with your own story. If you like, set up a call with me (via my site), I’ll listen to your vision then help you reflect on why that is important for you, what you will then need to focus on in order to achieve it, then even a few actionable steps on how to move forward.
“A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
Robert Browning
Nilofer Merchant
“Real Artists Ship”
Steve Jobs