Think Big

I’m a big picture thinker. I like to coax clients to think big too. To develop a wonderful vision that shows them a future more successful than they imagined possible.

A few days ago I was with a client reviewing the 10-year target we set a year ago. When we were initially setting the target, they began by cautiously projecting some small annual increases on their current revenue and profit. They used these figures to project other things such as employee and geographical growth. No big picture thinking in that.

As I pushed them to think big and they began to build an exciting and significantly more expansive vision than they started with, fear set in. “How can we do this?” “What if something happens to slow us down?” “It scares me to think about what this means we have to do.”

Then, after they finally agreed on the really big vision they had developed, as I read to them their new targets and vision, excitement set in. Excitement with lingering trepidation…

Now, one year later, as I read aloud once again the target and vision, they began to laugh. They had surpassed the 1-year goals we had set as the first step towards reaching the 10-year target, going farther than they imagined possible. Still chuckling, one of them said “I think we have to make our 10-year target bigger.”

What a change in their thinking and demeanor as they realized their big thinking is paying off!

Too often leadership teams run scared at the idea of setting big goals for a few years out. Meeting big goals requires you to be willing to fail. It requires you and your entire organization to work together seamlessly. To be totally aligned and focused on doing all the things that move you forward, ignoring all the little things that waste your time. It requires you to prune the dead wood…rapidly. Even if outside conditions work to defeat you, you must persevere. And most of all, it requires you to be laser focused on the goals of the organization rather than on your own aggrandizement.

It’s hard work.

But there’s an interesting thing about thinking big. The bigger you think the farther you get. Setting 10-year targets that are based on modest gains and little risk of failure leads to minimal growth and boring results. Setting 10-year targets that boggle everyone’s mind while exciting them about the vision lead to greater achievement and bigger results.

We achieve the results we envision. Think small…achieve small. Think big…achieve big. Envision small…wind up with people who are satisfied working to maintain the status quo. Envision big…wind up with people driven to achieve and only satisfied when they race past the seemingly unattainable.

Thinking big requires vision, guts, a leap of faith and imagination. It also requires careful thinking and planning. In my next missive I’ll address the stages of achieving a “think big” target and vision.

Until then, dream. Think about where you want your company to be in 10 years. Now think bigger. And bigger still.