Focus on desired future outcome

20 Sep, 2020 - 00:09 0 Views
Focus on desired future outcome Stand still when all about you is in a flurry of unfocused action

The Sunday Mail

Hunt for Greatness

Milton Kamwendo

Strategy is your theory of action. Direction in the midst of turbulence evolves from a patchwork of strategic decisions. Everywhere you look, there is always something happening because the world can never sit still.

There is a swath of negativity, yet rays of positive light that dance through the spirits of the strategic. The enemy of motivation is thinking “short-term”, relying on emotion and forgetting to be strategic.

As you think so you become. Thinking small, acting timidly and reading the “Things Fall Apart” script leaves you disheartened, disillusioned and disturbed. There is hope when you broaden your strategic scope. Choose to see the big visionary picture, focus on the mission that matters and act strategically. Thinking and acting strategically will move you ahead and keep you strong, agile and inspired. It involves plotting a course of action, facing obstacles, charging ahead towards worthy results. Thinking strategically does not mean being blind to the context, ignoring challenges, or running away from change.

Thinking and acting strategically means plotting a path despite whatever you have to go through in order to play to win. Change comes, but you stay grounded. Conditions shift, but you stand still in your field of opportunity.

Strategic thinking and intentional action gives you an unfair advantage and makes you an alchemist. Thinking strategically allows you to glance at the negative, but focus on a desired future outcome. It makes you implement intentionally. Nothing happens without a human agent taking action. Choose to be that catalytic agent that is the mover and the shaker. Make things happen and make a difference. Be motivated to be the strategic difference maker and value creator.

Study greatness

Be curious and challenge yourself to study greatness and not failure. Choose to look for what works and not what does not work. Choose to discipline your mind, heart and mouth by focusing on how you can achieve greatness. Look for reasons to step up, step forward and take giant strategic steps. Set a strategic path that you follow doggedly and keep looking for ways to step into action. Refuse to park at the same spot where change met you and do not rot at the place where adversity met you. Doing what you have always done, complaining about what you have always complained about is not strategic thinking and it is not helpful. Step up your strategic pursuits and bold, well thought out moves. You will never step into your greatness without a strategy.   

Study greatness and your strategic awareness will change and grow. Whatever you study, you become eventually. Whatever you study will always draw you towards it. Spend time thinking great thoughts and you will become great. Great thoughts are always strategic thoughts. Small thoughts lead only to routine action.

Do not allow for a moment your mind to be swallowed by small thinking and little meaningless battles. Mr Benjamin Disraeli (1804 – 1888) who was twice British Prime Minister, observed well when he said: “Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” You will never go higher than your strategic awareness and thinking. Think and study greatness and you will pave the way for greatness whatever the season.

Stay grounded

Without a strategy, a game plan, it is easier to veer off course, losing direction and alignment to your mission. Strategy is a blueprint of the desired future. Mr. John Herschel in 1842 introduced a chemical process that allowed for rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number of copies of a document. The copies from which this reproduction was enabled were blue in colour due to the chemical process and came to be called “blueprints”. A blueprint then is a reproduction of a document, usually a technical or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets.

Once you had a blueprint in place you knew that you could make faithful copies that could be used by others in the works. A good strategy is a “blueprint” and enables strategic action and delivery of desired outcomes. A strategy is a game plan that allows you to stay focused and grounded. Without a blueprint of greatness, alignment becomes a mere empty word.

Between the present and the future, there is a journey to be travelled. This journey cannot be travelled blindly, and aimlessly. The rugged space between the now and the future cares little for your feelings. When you are negative you are at a disadvantage because your energy will be low, and focus poor. When you are positive, you have energy and focus advantage. Stay grounded knowing that this moment will pass and things that are worrying you now will not always be the there. Without a strategy, you are positioning yourself for future accidents. The future is too important for you to just stumble into it blindly. Stay strategically grounded.

Stand still

Tough times come. Turbulent seasons come. Trying moments come. Tall waves come. Whatever comes your way, your strategy allows you to stand still, think clearly and face forward. It is all too easy to lead when the tailwinds are blowing, the reports are positive and the environment is calm. You may even get a few awards for exemplary leadership when your leadership is not being tested by pressure. It is in trying moments when few understand you and yet you are working out your strategy that you need to stand still. Stand still when all about you is in a flurry of unfocused action.

Stand still when the winds blow hard and the nights are long and noisy. Stand still when all you hear are the fearful night songs and dry beats. Stand still when you are tempted to retreat and give up. Stand still will everything around you is falling, failing and flailing. Stand strategy in hand and keep working the strategy when it looks as though nothing matters and makes sense any more.

Leadership has its dangers. Moses, many years ago found himself challenged as a leader. He knew where he was going, but there were obstacles ahead, murmurings around and danger behind. There was nowhere to run to or hide under. Yet, great leadership always manifests itself in times of danger, turbulence and storms. In the midst of that tempestuous season, he speaks to his angry, disheartened and complaining team. Leaders are skilled at sense-making and farming the context.

In Exodus 14:13-14, it is written: “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The LORD shall fight for you, and you shall be quiet.” The important message will always be: stand still and focus on the strategic objectives and outcomes.

Start acting

Do not waste another moment thinking negatively and staying in a cheese-less victim situation. Stretch, move and discover opportunities. Use your strategy as critical lenses to evaluate the opportunities in your face. Refine the opportunities and ensure that they are aligned with your big moves and big bets. Put your resources in the critical areas of strategic focus.

Focus on taking action and be obsessed with moving forward. You may have to start small, keep working to scale up. You may have to be a follower, be a fast follower. You may not have advantage, stay away from the line of fire and adopt the appropriate strategic moves of the mouse.

Your seemingly weak position nests your advantage. Move appropriately and strategically. Take strategic action and do not waste your emotions on senseless battles. Sun Tzu, the great Chinese Military tactician advised: “Those who are skilled in combat do not become angered, those who are skilled at winning do not become afraid. Thus the wise win before they fight, while the ignorant fight to win.” Do not fear, take deliberate action. 

Committed to your greatness.

Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and growth mentor. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at [email protected] and His website is www.miltonkamwendo.com

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds