If you want to create something new in the world, your first task is to inspire people: to teach them to long for your project to happen.
As the pilot and poet Antoine de Saint Exupéry said:
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
The better you do this, the more motivated people will be to join you, stick with you, and deliver enthusiastic results.
The way you achieve this is by describing an inspiring vision.
Every vision is different but every vision is built from the same seven building blocks:
- A clear definition of the problem
- A clear definition of the future you want to create
- Clearly defined first steps to get there
- Articulated in a way that is meaningful for your audience
- Expressed authentically by you
- Explaining why your vision matters (the principles, ideals, or values it upholds) and
- Asking your audience to make a choice: Are they with you?
If you define and combine these blocks in a way that makes your audience long for the endless immensity of the sea, you won’t need to assign them tasks or drum up people to collect wood — they will do all that for themselves.
Have you inspired yourself and the people around you to long for the success of the project you are working on? What would happen if you did?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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Photo By Bruno Girin via StockPholio.net