A "vision" is a call to action. The original Bill Gates vision — "a PC on every desk and in every home, using Microsoft software" — was specific, highly ambitious, and clearly linked to the company. It contrasts strongly with the vague visions drawn up by many large companies. Follow Microsoft's example and invent your own future.
Get ahead of the game
The purpose of a vision is to train your sights on achieving a future that is better than your present — not by small degrees but by orders of magnitude. With this mind-set you (like Gates) win an enormous advantage over other people who are not purposeful and progressive. Draw up your own vision:
* Take a piece of paper.
* Write across the top where you want yourself (and/or your business) to be in no less than five years' time.
* Write across the bottom — with merciless accuracy — where you are right now.
* Fill the space in-between with the steps you need to make in order to move from the bottom of the page to the top. The whole exercise should take no more than an hour, though you may well find that the most difficult part of the task is starting.
Make things happen
A lot of managers are reluctant to take part in this exercise. If this includes you, ask yourself why:
* Are you just unambitious?
* Do you find it hard to think ahead?
* Are you reluctant to confront hard truths about the present?
* Are you put off by the major tasks and hard work that may be needed to create your future?
* Do you just prefer simply to wait on events?
If Gates and Allen had answered "yes" to any of these questions, the Microsoft phenomenon would never have been born. Be ambitious about your goals, think about the future, learn to face realities, and be prepared to work hard to make things happen.
