The Importance of Visionary Freedom
Visionaries Freedom
How many Visionaries of their businesses yearn to work “on the business” instead of “for the business”? Being pulled between these two priorities makes for long days, stress, and strain.
So, let us think about what the Visionary could do if they got more freedom:
Become the Culture Czar: all great companies have strong cultures. While culture is a shared set of characteristics, the Visionary is best suited to identify those features in the people, promote the cultural virtues and celebrate its success throughout the organization.
Build upon key Customer relationships: Most businesses – not all – have a set of key customers that drive revenue and innovation. The “80/20” rule (which manifests itself in all sorts of ways – but that is for another essay) tells us that 80% of revenue comes from about 20% of the customers. The Visionary is the ideal person to protect and grow that revenue. Yes, many other key people in the business are essential, but the Visionary can well manage that deep relationship.
Build upon key Partner relationships: Much like key Customers, Partners can also have a profound impact on the growth and stability of the business. And building these key relationships helps both the company and the Partner.
Get more involved with industry associations: Having a voice in industry or trade associations helps the business and the industry itself. The Visionary has deep connections to the company (obviously) and therefore wants the best for the industry and – most importantly – can help guide the industry through regulatory, technological, and cultural changes.
Get more involved with communities: Businesses exist in and among communities; business and community can work together on things that make them both great. From planning, to volunteering to participating in local leadership, the Visionary has the skills and experience to make a difference.
Read more: How many of us have a stack of books that we really mean to read sometime? How many of us are too busy to make a meaningful dent in that stack? Reading is one of the most important ways to gain insight and experience and increase knowledge and wisdom. No one would argue that it is a waste of time. Why not make it a priority?
Think more: IBM’s legendary mission statement during their mercurial rise was a simple word: “Think.” Much like reading, can we say that we have enough time to think about things? Time to problem-solve, innovate or simply be creative – to think – is something a Visionary should not compromise on.
So How Does The Visionary Get This Freedom?
The first thing they need to do is honestly assess where they are spending their time. The best way to do this is a time study where they note what they are doing every fifteen minutes or so for at least a week. Onerous? Indeed. But worth it. Suppose the Visionary finds that they spend more time than they thought on tactical execution than on long-term strategic thinking. In that case, they need to find a way to delegate or eliminate those activities. One of the best ways to do this is to lean on the Integrator. And if the Visionary is also acting as the Integrator? Then the answer may well be to engage a Fractional Integrator.
Would you like to talk about what you would do with more freedom? Book some time with me; maybe we can find ways for you to be freer.