Late last year I started a new project that was dedicated to improving our delivery process and tools. I spent a few weeks talking to people throughout our organization about what the problems were and how we can best address them. And then I came up with The Grand Vision.
The Grand Vision was an awesome elevator speech where I drew quadrants and arrows, talked about the main problems I was seeing and how to bring them together into one, totally awesome, unified structure that Would Save The World.
In one of the meetings, a key leader I respect said to me, “That’s ambitious.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
It wasn’t a compliment.
The lesson I learned is that it’s important to map out the process and see how what you’re doing fits into the entire goal. But it’s also important to solve problems immediately that have a quick return on investment.
This kind of thinking happens all the time:
| Ambitious | Should be |
|---|---|
| I’m going to get rid of all sugar in my house and go gluten free | On Fridays I eat donuts that people bring in the office. In June I’m not going to eat any. |
| I’m going to get a gym membership with personal training and wake up every day at 5:30AM and get ripped! | I’m going to bike anywhere within five miles of my house and do 20 push ups a night |
| We are going to a full week marriage conference in Aspen, Colorado so we can get our marriage back on track | Let’s go on a date and not look at our phones |
It’s so easy to avoid the really tough problems in front of you by dreaming a big dream. I think many of us like to think if we can’t do it all, then why do it at all? The real battle is won when we drop that all or nothing thinking and get something done…today.
When have you let the grand vision distract you from what really needed to be done right then and there?