I remember my former manager tagged me and my colleague as visionaries in our group. I never paused to realize I am a visionary but somehow I saw myself seeing things differently than most people.

Qualities of a visionary

Strong in Judgment – a visionary has the judgment, strength and confidence to stand by his opinions and proven everyone he’s correct. A visionary usually thinks far off the radar and faced with lots of criticism from everyone else.

I worked with companies that have well defined processes and methodologies that guide development teams from start towards the end of the project. While these methodologies had so much success from their author (Arthur Andersen, US Base), I would argue that some things weren’t applicable to our local settings and have constantly debated over senior team members how things should be done.

Act on it – Part of being a visionary is the ability to act and execute to make that vision a reality; otherwise, it will remain as a fantasy by a lunatic individual.

Bill Gates did not waste anytime and thought it best to drop from college and start his software company. Two to four years in college is very short but not for people who have seen the opportunity to capitalize and become successful.

Challenge status quo – Fixed patterns impede innovation and creativity. Don’t be afraid to challenge processes and beliefs but at the same time be smart and avoid becoming a rebel.

Conclusion – Visionaries see things differently and being a minority in beliefs and ideas is common, but being able to execute and make things happen is even rare.

[tags]Visionary[/tags]