Photo credit: Flickr/ JLStricklin

[A note from Pat: Today’s post is a guest post from my friend and mentor, Christian Knutson. Chris is an expert in both engineering and leadership, with decades of experience in the military and as an entrepreneur. He’s the author of www.engineerleader.com, an excellent read for anyone who reads this blog.]

I’ve been thinking a lot the past year about the vision thing.  About what goes into finding it, getting it to sound just right, trying it on for size and making sure it fits.  I’ve read that I need a vision, I’ve heard that I need vision, and I’ve even written about the importance of developing a vision.  But I’d never given thought to what happens if my vision is impaired.  What do I do if my vision is impaired?

Finding out that your vision is impaired isn’t like the annual visit to the ophthalmologist.  You don’t have the luxury of someone putting a machine in front of your eyes and asking you “is #3 or #4 is clearer?”.  (By the way, that machine is called a Phoropter… what an awesome name!)  To find out that your vision is out of focus takes a failure.  And it also takes time.  It’s a failure that manifests over after a period of time, sometimes years.  Remember, vision is not in the present, but in the future.

Why vision gets impaired

What I’ve figured out in the past year is that impaired vision doesn’t occur because the vision is flawed.  It’s because the strategy or the plan used to bring the vision in to existence is flawed.  The lenses through which I’m looking at future success have become weakened and have impaired the vision.  So the work that needs to take place isn’t entirely on my vision.  There may be a realignment or adjustment of my vision.  But there’s an entire overhaul of my strategy/plan.

I figured out I had a misalignment between vision and strategy when what I intended to create exploded in my face. That’s one way you figure out there’s a problem with your vision/strategy construct.  When what you intend to create fails, either mildly or epically, that’s when it’s time to reassess your vision and strategy alignment.

What to do when your vision and strategy don’t align

What do you do when you know you have a vision/strategy misalignment?  To start with, stop implementing your strategy immediately.  Don’t put more energy into something that isn’t working.  Acknowledge that something’s wrong and intervene.  Then assess the situation, look over what the results were, what you intended to create, and where the gaps existed.  It’s in the gaps that you can reveal what caused the failure of your vision/strategy alignment.  And it is in these gaps you can determine how to get your vision and strategy back to harmony and working towards the future you intend.

Throughout, ensure that you acknowledge that although your strategy/plan is flawed, you’re not flawed.  Your essence – character, virtues, morals – are not flawed.  Your essence is the same.  It’s just that your vision – how you see the future – is out of focus due to a misguided strategy or plan.

Realignment through service

One way to get your vision and strategy back into alignment is to ensure that your vision is framed in the context of how you will serve others.  Seriously, vision must be connected to how you will be of service – that is bring value – to others.  If it is not rooted in service, then your vision stands a less likely chance of bringing you what you intend to create.  This doesn’t mean that you have to forgo material possessions, give up pursuing professional/personal development, or become a monk.  You can lead a life of fulfillment and be of service to others, that is, bring value to them.

In the engineering profession we are well versed in creating value for others by providing them service.  We conceive, design and execute projects for others.  We create value for them out of nothing.   This is one example of viewing vision in terms of service that doesn’t seem ethereal.

It isn’t easy to admit that your vision is impaired.  It’s painful.  But it’s liberating to do so and to put in place a renewed vision of future success.

“When a plan or strategy fails, people are tempted to assume it was the wrong vision. Plans and strategies can always be changed and improved. But vision doesn’t change. Visions are simply refined with time.”

– Andy Stanley

[ois skin=”After posts D”]