“We’re going to win the World Series,” declared my coach, Gene Hanson.
It was the summer of 1982, and the room was filled with 18 thirteen-year-old baseball players, myself included, selected for that summer’s Little League all-star team, plus our sweet and supportive families.
After an uncomfortable exchange of blank stares, laughter, mostly from the players, erupted and filled the room. Our laughs weren’t out of disrespect, but from sheer shock and disbelief.
Everyone, including my coach, knew that no team from our Chicago suburb of Libertyville had ever made it past the State Tournament. In fact, only one team had ever made it to the State Tournament.
And that is what great leaders do. They see something others cannot see yet, they say it out loud before it feels safe, and they understand that a big Vision can feel hard, scary, or even impossible at first.
Before we could write off Coach Hanson as completely out of his mind, there was more: he actually had a plan.
Vision Needs a Path, Not Just a Promise
Coach Hanson created a strategy for how we were going to build the discipline, skills, and endurance necessary to win five consecutive double-elimination tournaments and earn the World Series title that summer.
The plan was built around relentless conditioning, superior pitching, and flawless defense. We did not have to win the whole thing in one leap. We had to win one tournament at a time:
- The District
- The Section
- The State
- The Midwest Region
- The World Series
At best, we would go 15–0. At worst, we would go 20–5. Either way, he told us, we were going to win the World Series.
That is a prime example of what great leaders have that others often do not. They keep their eyes on something others cannot see yet, they are willing to say it out loud before it feels safe, and they stay steady when the first reaction is skepticism.
Sure enough, we went on to win our District, Sectional, State, and Midwest Regional. We finished second at the World Series.
We lost in the Championship game to the tournament favorites from Tampa, Florida, getting one-hit by their star player, Gary Sheffield. Yes, that Gary Sheffield.
In sports and in business, a clear Vision can inspire people to stretch beyond what they thought was possible. In a company running on EOS, that Vision becomes more powerful when the leadership team is 100% on the same page with where the company is going, how it plans to get there, and what must happen next.
Many companies have someone who can see a bigger future for the organization and put words around it before everyone else fully believes it. In EOS, that energy often comes from the Visionary, who brings big ideas, bold thinking, and belief in what the company can become.
That Vision matters, but it is not enough by itself. For a bold Vision to become real, the leadership team has to execute with discipline and accountability. EOS helps make that happen by giving the team a simple way to clarify the plan, strengthen the structure, look at the numbers, solve the Issues, follow the Processes, and set the Rocks that move the business forward.
Turning a Laughable Goal into Traction
Companies that run on EOS learn to be great at three things:
- Vision: Everyone is 100% on the same page with where they’re going and how they’re going to get there.
- Traction: Everyone is executing on that Vision with discipline, real accountability, and a clear commitment to doing what matters most.
- Healthy: Everyone is open, honest, vulnerable, and cohesive, and they make decisions for the greater good of the organization.
That is how a big Vision starts becoming part of how the company runs every day. It is no longer simply an exciting idea that gets talked about once and then disappears into the day-to-day. It becomes something the leadership team can clarify, communicate, execute, and keep strengthening over time.
When a leadership team plays small, the whole business usually feels it. People may stay busy, but they are not always aligned around the same Vision, solving the right Issues, or executing with the discipline the business needs. Every excellent team needs leaders who are willing to name a bigger Vision, communicate it clearly, and help the team build the discipline required to get there.
Big goals do more than inspire people. They also show you where the organization is strong and where it needs work. They reveal whether the Vision is clear enough to align around, whether the plan is focused enough to execute, whether the Right People are in the Right Seats, whether the right Issues are being solved, and whether accountability is strong enough to carry the team through the moments when belief alone is not enough.
See Whether EOS Is the Right Fit
Coach Hanson’s Vision sounded impossible at first, but it became believable once we understood the path, the plan, and the discipline required to pursue it. A bold Vision needs more than belief. It needs a leadership team that is 100% on the same page and committed to executing with discipline and accountability.
That is what the 90-Minute Meeting helps your team begin to see: whether EOS is the right fit for helping you clarify the Vision, strengthen your business, and create a more disciplined way to turn that Vision into Traction. In that meeting, an EOS Implementer will learn where your company has been, where it is now, and where it is going, then show you how EOS helps leadership teams strengthen the Six Key Components of their business.
