Every leadership article will tell you that having a vision and having it be adopted by others is a key skill for a leader. What they fail to tell you is that vision perspective is just as important.

The Danger of a loss of vision

The danger of a loss of vision has been in the news lately. Mylan, the maker of the Epipen, has a vision. They wanted to “relentlessly improve product innovation….to become the most efficient pharmaceutical company… in the industry”. They did that with the injection method for the Epipen, but as news reports have pointed out, somewhere along the line, it seems that making profits year over year became a higher priority. They lost the higher vision in pursuit of the annual/quarterly one. The result of that loss was written in the headlines, congressional investigations, complaints about unjustified price increases, the loss of reputation and of course, stock price. The rest of the story and the vision has yet to play out.

The Danger of a fixation on vision

Xerox believes that “improving the flow of work is core to helping clients …be more successful.” To assist in this, Xerox moved the same copiers it used in the US for sale in Asia/Japan. Surely moving this most helpful device globally would help their clients. They moved as quickly as possible. To their chagrin, the copiers were not successful. Why? They overlooked something they were famous for at the time, personalization. You see, the copiers were built for standard US height clients. In Asia, the copiers were too tall for the average user. Attention to that detail would make all the difference. The process was corrected and the vision resumed.

The answer: Keep visions in perspective

What did we learn? Visions are indeed important, but they should not be lost to short term concerns or fixated on to the detriment of important insights. Visions need to keep perspective and balance with other concerns of leadership. In other words, your vision cannot be so narrow or strict it can be overlooked or so broad and flexible you miss a goal. Visions need to be compelling to be adopted, and it helps if it can be personalized. Keep visions in perspective to make them something that can enhance performance.