Brian de Haaff* says building a successful organisation requires a delicate balancing act between long-term vision and everyday realities.
“She with a plan wins.” The best boss I ever had said this.
She was a mentor to me and her mantra became one of my own.
I referenced this line in some of my earliest writing on the Aha! blog.
The idea is not that product and organisation builders have a detailed plan for every scenario. It is that you have a goal-first approach that informs your actions.
You know what you want to achieve and that drives your decision-making. It is your bold vision of the future.
The paradox is how to achieve your long-term vision while creating value today.
Vision is what fuels the best entrepreneurs. This kind of passion inspires people to join you and contribute to your organisation’s success as if it were their own.
A courageous outlook means you are ahead of the time. You see the future differently.
The conviction to achieve your long-term vision is what fuels you, but it can be easy to lose sight of that vision when you are contending with the everyday demands of the organisation.
You want to be sure that you are not leaning so far into the immediacy of what you absolutely must achieve now that you lose touch with the future you are working towards.
The alternative is not much better. If you do the opposite and solely focus on an ambitious future, you will not take the necessary steps to get there.
You need to make choices that create immediate value so that your ultimate vision can be realised.
So how do you balance it all? Here is how:
Know the long-term vision
Let’s assume you have a clear vision and know where you are headed.
Do you also know why it matters? This is not a trick question. Many smart people have ideas that never materialise into anything of substance.
So you need to test that your long-term vision matters — and you should test it often.
Jot down all the potential impacts of not delivering against it.
Evaluate the short-term need
What aspect of your long-term vision is most compelling to other people today?
This requires ruthless evaluation on your part. Remember that one person’s desire could be different from something that could benefit a group of people.
So do not settle for biased confirmation from just a few.
Ask enough people that you are convinced your distilled insight would benefit a group — even if those groups are considered niche.
Move forward with intent
Force yourself to write down what will create value today.
Do this before you even start building. Remain vigilant as you go. Stay focused on the essence of what you decided to build.
If your ‘value now’ assumptions prove to be off base, go back to step one above.
Imagine bridges
So you have built for today and a meaningful group of clients like your solution.
Now it is time to think about connectors. How does what you built relate to your long-term aspirations?
Seeing bridges will help you determine how well-aligned your next moves are with your long-term plans.
This requires deep introspection and a willingness to be wrong, but it will ensure you can provide what your clients need now while sustaining your bigger vision.
That bigger vision will likely be adjusted over time anyway and there will be opportunities to refine.
You may find that you need to go through the steps above many times — especially during challenging times.
There will be moments when the gap between where you are and where you want to go will feel a leap too far.
However, if you hold true to your plan, it will shorten over time.
The key is to use your long-term vision as the lens for what you prioritise today.
*Brian de Haaff is the Chief Executive of cloud-based software company Aha! He can be contacted on Twitter @bdehaaff.
This article first appeared on the Aha! company website.
