Dream On, Strategically

The other day, I was sitting in my office and made myself a cup of coffee. It's a daily ritual for me, one that I really enjoy—fresh coffee percolating through the machine, the aroma filling the office. I had an appointment in a couple of hours, so I was dressed for that. I very gingerly picked up my cup of coffee and sat down. As I leaned forward to take my first sip, I held the cup away from me so that nothing would spill on my white shirt. The next day while sitting at home enjoying a cup of coffee, I realized that I hadn't gone to any of the extra pains that I had taken the previous day in drinking my coffee. I just sat there in my home clothes, not really concerned whether or not I spilled anything on myself—I just enjoyed the coffee!

As I reflected on these two scenarios, I realized that intent was at the very center—to be very careful on the one hand, and not being bothered by it on the other hand. Without intent to be careful or to do something, we are very much like people without a rudder. We just let the wind take us where we want; it really doesn't matter. Yet, life is not lived that way. Life is lived with intentionality—taking the oars in our hand and steering our course, not letting ourselves be carried around by the vagaries of wind or weather.

Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad wrote an article way back in 1989 called, "Strategic Intent." While intent by itself shows a kind of forward motion or direction, strategic intent defines it and fine-tunes it to a central point. Further, as these authors explain, "Strategic intent takes the long view. The act of such intent is to operate from the future backward, disregarding the resource scarcity of the present."

1. This is an important point to remember: to not allow strategic intent to be determined by the resources at hand. Sometimes we are defined by the things that we have around us. While they are important, and we ought not to minimize them, we also ought not to let the things that we can do be controlled or contained by the resources at hand. They ought to be defined by the dreams that we have. But, about intent, he goes on to say, "Intent is so necessary in the corporate world especially if you've been knocked down, or you've lost out to somebody, or you've lost your way."[i]
   
2. Intent is the key to getting up when you've been knocked down, or if you've lost business to a competitor, or you're in a phase of life where you don't have vision. You need to have intent, and you need to have strategic intent that is not based on existing resources.
   
   Sun Tzu, a Chinese military strategist 3,000 years ago, said, "All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer. But what none can see is the strategy out of which great victory is evolved." [iii]
   
3. Everyone can see the tactics; nobody can see my strategy. And strategy, as Prahalad says, is key. [iii]

So I wonder, as you read this, if you have strategic intent, or if you are bogged down by the immediate present. Maybe you are saying: This is all I have. Let's see what I can do with this. Well, maybe today is the day to reach a little further and dream a little bigger.

Jim Collins used to say that you've got to have a BHAG—a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or something that is way beyond you, not based on what you have, but based on what you think you ought to be doing or ought to get at.[iv] I think all of us need to have a BHAG, and that will happen if we put strategic intent into our lives. We have all been placed here for a particular reason by the Almighty God. We need to be able to dream big and envision what we can do based on the resources that God can give us. He has given us the vision to do those things and He will supply the resources.

My challenge for you today: check to see if you have intent, strategic intent, and intent that is not based on resources that are visible to you, but based on what you feel is the reason why you are here on this earth. And then, pursue it with every fiber of your being!

Can I pray for you?

Almighty God, if the readers have taken a beating, if they are down and out, or if they have begun to be conformed to the things of the world, I pray that today You would break them out of that cocoon. Let butterflies be birthed and dreams be characterized by strategic intent, not defined or contained by what they may have, but dependent on You, the ultimate resource. I pray all of this in Your precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen.

References

• [i] Vijay Govindarajan, "The Timeless Strategic Value of Unrealistic Goals," Harvard Business Review, October 22, 2012, https://hbr.org/2012/10/the-timeless-strategic-value-of-unrealistic-goals.html.
• [ii] Ibid.
• [iii] Sun Tzu, "Sun Tzu Quotes," BrainyQuote.com, accessed June 1, 2016, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/suntzu155751.html.
• [iv] see Mark Hendricks, "In the BHAG," Entrepreneur, August 1, 1999, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/18100.