Forget Vision – It’s All About the Process

There is a rule of thumb at my company when forecasting large projects. It says that whatever one has budgeted for time and money, add at least another 30% on top of it. That’s just the reality of most complex projects – they almost always take longer and cost more than what we think at the onset.

I have found this to be true. That huge real estate deal that was supposed to close in nine months? It took over a year. The acquisition that I told the Board of Directors would be snagged within six months? It was more like 18. And that personal goal I set for reaching 1,000 page views per day on my blog? Despite the apparent success of just about every other blogger on the internet, nine months later I’ve barely coughed up one-tenth of that.  

Well, what did I expect?

Anything worthwhile that we set out to accomplish is probably going to require much more effort and time than we originally anticipate. Which is why consultants, sages and motivational experts throughout the ages have advised us to set a grand, compelling Vision – and then hold on to it tightly! Because it will be the only thing to keep you slogging through the living hell of getting there.

Being stuck in the limbo of pushing a big rock up a hill can be wearing. Especially when the days string into weeks and months, or even years without seeing the results you were hoping for.  Who wants to wait around five years for a promotion? Or seven years for your company to start turning a profit? Or twelve years to get your book published? Especially when there are no guarantees that you will end up where you wanted anyway? 

Focusing too much on the end result, or lack thereof, can make us frustrated, irritable and unhappy. It’s just so much work!

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Photograph by Vanda.