June, 2007

Dreamers Create Real Possibilities
By David Salzwedel

Webster's Dictionary defines a dream as "a visionary creation of the imagination" and a dreamer as "one who lives in a world of fancy or imagination."

Some years ago, I asked my two children, both of whom were under 12 years old, to list their dreams for the future on a sheet of paper. Being unencumbered by the confining restrictions of adulthood and learned limiters, they had no trouble listing several pages of dreams.

As children, many of us were told to "dream big" and "the sky's the limit." However, it seems that only the most successful adults, especially successful executives, still dream effectively this way. The basis of the accomplished business leader's thinking process includes dreams and dreaming regularly. I'm not talking about the nighttime, subconscious dreaming, what I'm referring to happens during the day.

The inexhaustible belief that the leader, and his or her organization, can do something different and better than others helps drive this momentum. Executives are successful by design, development and by action, very seldom by chance.

Just where does this ability to dream originate? How do successful people think, and what actions do they take, to create and maintain successful organizations? The best leaders take their experiences, beliefs, and observations into consideration to determine the possibilities of what can be done.

Remember, most executives are pragmatists. They are not oblivious to obstacles. They just don't believe their dream should be deterred by something as unimportant as an obstacle. So, how can both existing and aspiring young executives further develop their thinking (dreaming) skills?

• Access your dream - Look at what you do, what you know, what you have experienced, how your organization works and think more about how it could be. Throw out the limits.
  
  
• Write down specifics-The dream must be so clear in your mind that you could describe it if awakened from a dead sleep at 2 a.m..
  
  
• Be tenacious - Like a mission statement, everything you and your organization does should be focused towards the dream. If you are not making progress towards that goal, change the direction or effort.
  
  
• Expand your dream- At some point, you must make your dream public. Feedback and thoughts from others will bring them into the dream and foster their essential understanding and support of it.
  
  
• Keep talking about your dream - Don't think that everyone will understand your dream or accept it just because you have explained it once or twice.
  
• Recognize and reward contributors - Keep the state of achievement visible, even in small increments.

By the way, Webster's Dictionary also defines a dream as "a strongly desired goal or purpose." Do you want to be a dreamer now?

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