When I attended the National League of Cities Convention in 2008, I secretly hoped that someone could tell me how to unlock that hidden value in a city. I sat in a room of 3,100 mayors and commissioners. Soon I knew they would leave the Wonder World atmosphere of Orlando and go back home to the Battle of the Bucks. Many of the grand ideas they learned about there would sink in the budgeting quicksand, as environmental, housing, regulatory, and human needs vie for their declining revenue. Personally, I wanted to ask some of them how they managed to do all this, raise a family, keep a job, pay the mortgage or rent, stay sane, and remain financially solvent. That kind of power and ability would put Superman to shame. My father tried to do it all, but he struggled at times, too. Neither his bank account nor the city coffers were ever as big as his vision for the town.
People who knew Hibbard remember him as a visionary. So what is that? The dictionary describes a visionary as both as a person of unusually keen foresight – and a person who is given to audaciously, highly speculative, or impractical ideas or schemes – a dreamer. There was ammunition for both sides in Dad’s case.
On the final day of the convention, there was grand panel of notable mayors in a room twice the size of a football field filled with city leaders. The League’s leadership heralded these men as nearly legendary in their accomplishments.
The job of transferring their immeasurable knowledge into memorable sound bites fell to a woman with her own celebrity status, Michelle Norris, of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” She started by listing the qualities her honorable guests possess. These men are:
1 Innovative
2 Nimble in their ability to implement ideas.
3 See possibilities where others do not
4 Have the vision it takes to get through tough times.
5 Take risks
Then I hesitated. Something felt oddly familiar about this description. Then she said,
6 They’re a bit crazy
Norris meant that they are somewhat child-like in their inability to take no for an answer when they want something. She concluded their notable qualities by saying, “These great leaders build coalitions and, above all, they serve their communities.”
I recognized the description. My father held all these qualities, without exception. Coalition building was sometimes the hardest part. But his favorite quote was by Mahatma Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
See, the trouble with being a visionary is that when people see your visions as crazy or risky, they don’t usually line up behind you, ready to follow. But, over time, if you have a history of being innovative, giving back to your community, and finding ways to get through tough times, your invitation to join in should eventually be accepted.
If not, go back to Rule 6 – Be a little crazy. Don’t take no for an answer. That doesn’t mean badger people, but lead by setting an example. The best will follow – and eventually become leaders. When that happens, you’ve created a legacy to be proud of.
Have a happy and prosperous 2010!
0 Responses to “The Trouble with Being a Visionary”