Vision is NOT a Hallucination 

 

With the political season in high gear, there's a lot of talk about vision coming from all the candidates...and that's a good thing.  We need to have a clear idea about where we're going before we set off in the wrong direction.  But it's hard, in the middle of such contentious races, to talk about the candidates' visions without getting mired in their political views...So here's something less controversial (except to New England Patriots fans.) 

 

After the Super Bowl cliff-hanging last quarter, the press talked to winning Giants' quarterback, ELI MANNING, who was voted Most Valuable Player.  He talked about those last thrilling minutes when he threw the winning pass that won the game and described his thought process.  "I was glad we were down by 4 points! If we were only down by 3, I'd have been tempted to go for a field goal.  Being down by 4, I had to get a touchdown.  I didn't have a choice. So I did."

 

Necessity forces us to translate a vision into reality. 

 

Read more about how contemporary business leaders are translating vision into reality in our latest blog entry, "Vision is NOT a Hallucination."  It looks at the theme of vision with examples from contemporary CEOs.

 

We interviewed some amazing leaders for our new book, Conventional Wisdom: How Today's Leaders Plan, Perform and Progress Like the Founding Fathers.©   For the last 3 years I have been interviewing CEOs and executive leaders from the public, private and nonprofit sectors who share two important characteristics with the framers of the US Constitution; they have vision and they have a track record of converting that vision into reality. 

 

The theme weaves two stories together; how the framers went about developing the US Constitution to translate their vision into reality and how today's leaders accomplish the same thing.  The book reveals the secrets of strategic leadership and planning the framers used so effectively that are still being used by successful contemporary  leaders.

 

Publication will be June 28, 2008 (The anniversary of the death of James Madison, the Father of the Constitution.)  Learn when we begin our pre-publication special offers. Send a note to ConventionWisdom@cs.com. Read thoughts and insights related to the forthcoming book by checking out our blog at http://conventionalwisdominstitute.blogspot.com.  Please leave your comments on the blog.  We want to hear from you

  

 

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Consider the following story that happened to a banking client of ours.

 

The bank had developed a robust strategic plan and was cascading it through the organization.  Each department had its own aligned plan and positive results were beginning to roll in.  Employees were engaged because they knew exactly where their daily jobs fit into the plan and how they contributed to the corporate results.

 

Then storm clouds appeared on the horizon.  Interest rates fell precipitously.  Other banks started shedding staff like dandruff.  Competitors floundered and grasped at gimmicky new ways to attract customers.  When the bank's executive team gathered for the monthly review of progress against plan, there were dejected faces around the table as they waited to see which of them would head for the chopping block.  Despite the sun pouring in the windows, it was gloomy in the room.

 

When the CEO appeared, he was cheery! He announced that things would be a little tight and they'd have to pull back on some initiatives but overall things were in good shape.  As everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, he reminded them that they had a good plan that only required some slight modifications.  There was no need to panic or flounder or grasp at gimmicks.

 

The CEO was confident because he was already executing a plan for growth in tough times.  Not only did the bank continue to survive, it thrived while many of its competitors, without strategic leadership, went under.  The bank did not lay off employees.  It hired new ones and over the next few years doubled its staff while doubling its assets -- in hard times.

 

The CEO and CFO attributed their success to the thoroughness of their strategic planning and execution processes.

 

This is powerful stuff folks!

 

Our system, outlined in Success Planning, was used by the bank to bring it through difficult times successfully. Success Planning is used in large and small companies, nonprofits, public entities, universities and even a US military War College to develop robust strategic plans.  More importantly, they use the Success Planning System to implement their plans and turn vision into reality.  No organization in today's economy can hope to be effective running on good intentions and fire fighting (unless it's the fire department.)  The only way to survive is through executing a sound strategic plan. 

 

Find out more about the strategic planning and execution process.  Check out our brief article "The Do's and Don'ts of Strategic Planning" at http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Staton-Reinstein

  

Invest in this valuable resource: Success Planning: A 'How-To' Guide for Strategic Planning. It's available on Amazon at  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-3790870-3218558?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Rebecca+Staton-Reinstein&x=5&y=18   It's available on our website http://www.advantageleadership.com/book.html   CONTACT US -- We'll show you how to create a plan that gets the business results you want -- Turn Your Vision into a Reality.   Advantage Leadership, Inc. Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, Ph.D., President 633 NE 167th Street, Suite 1015 North Miami Beach, FL 33162 Ph: 305-652-3466  Fx: 305-652-3466 http://www.advantageleadership.com/

Small Businesses can now take advantage of our proven Success Planning System through a unique planning session that enables you to build your own robust strategic plan and to develop your unique implementation strategy. 

 

Here's the deal: Advantage Leadership is now offering a focused, 2-day strategic planning session for small businesses. 

 

 

These unique sessions are limited to 6 - 8 non-competing businesses at one time.  Our pilot group included businesses as diverse as a physical therapy company, a medical practice, a lawn care service and a home remodeling company.  They came from New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Florida.  They have helped us create a format that compresses everything you need into two high impact days. 

 

Think you don't have 2 days to spend in planning?  Think again...

 

Are you like that pinball one small business owner used to describe himself? 

How are you faring with NO PLAN? 

Are you growing?  Do you have a life? 

 

Find out if you qualify for our special program, Success Planning for Small Business.  Call today...there's no cost to chat...Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, 305-652-3466. 

Our April session is filling up, so act now. 

What have you got to lose except frustration, exhaustion and stress?

 

This e-zine comes to you from: Rebecca Staton-Reinstein, President Advantage Leadership, Inc. 633 NE 167th Street, Suite 1015 North Miami Beach, FL 33162 Phone: 305-652-3466  Fax: 305-652-3866 Rebecca@AdvantageLeadership.com www.AdvantageLeadership.com