They said it was impossible to build the Panama Canal.

“Now, like it or not, the world wants something different from you” writes Seth Godin in his bestselling new book Linchpin.

What does your boss, your board, your company, church – what does the world want from you?

They want you do to the impossible!  To create it with fewer resources, for a higher return, with new tools, to make a difference in peoples lives.

I am at ground zero.

Five bullets to you can embody to do the impossible.

  1. Capitalize on the personal passion of the CEO – or rediscover the Founder’s VisionFor those leading from the second chair, rediscovering the Founder’s Vision, aligning behind it – this fuels the flywheel.
  2. Rediscover your organization’s future – read the article The Future of Reading  from Forbes and replace “reading” with the name of your organization.
  3. Find ways to articulate an idealized future one step at a time – go for the Bronze before you go for the Silver or Gold.
  4. Determine what doesn’t exist and invent it.
  5. Stop doing what’s no longer viable.  Start doing what’s in demand.

For those of us who lead, whether from the first, second or third chair – we are called to do the impossible – to be resourceful and resilient – to get it done.  Like you I am constantly faced with opportunities conveniently disguised as impossibilities.

Content from this post was inspired by Rex Rogers’ article Developing Your Organization’s Vision.