The role of a visionary in business
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A visionary is a person who has an idea of how they want their product or service to change the market or world. The visionary is someone who understands clearly what they are trying to do. Many people consign visionaries as a useless role, as it doesn’t directly impact many business functions. But the truth is that visionaries play a critical role in leadership and allowing a business to continue to succeed.
When you think of visionaries you think of the creative minds of a company. Some goods examples are Steve Jobs and James Dyson. They are literally the people designing the goods that are being consumed. A visionary is necessary in all fields especially with technology because as new versions are released, each new iteration has to be better than the previous one. On the technical aspect, a company could promote minor improvements as a new version, but consumers won’t be incentivized to make a purchase if they don’t believe that the new version is superior. A visionary can push the invention or product further to the point that a consumer views it as a must have.
In terms of marketing and the outward face of the business, this is also another key area the visionary plays a critical role in. How the public perceives the visionary can influence how they view the company. While this aspect comes with its own strengths and weaknesses, receiving twice as much attention can make a big difference when it comes to getting word out about your product. Many times simply being the visionary can allow you to overcome business weaknesses. For example, Tesla is one of many of electric car companies who have similar features. But because Elon Musk is seen as a revolutionary of technology pushing the boundaries Tesla stands out more than other companies.
Many associate the idea of a visionary needing to touch every aspect of the business. This idea is simply not true. Silos exist in business for a reason, and while collaboration is valuable not everything can be intermingled. Different business functions when allowed to run without a clear guide can quickly sink a business. For example a company run by someone solely focused on the finances may never put to market the kind of product consumers love. They may survive for long periods of time, but they aren’t thriving. The same can be said about marketing. Many technology companies rely heavily on marketing, but fail to convert the eyes and ears into committed customers. A visionary ties all of these together by harnessing their functions for the greater good of the business. Finding the necessary funding to create the magical product that when marketed leads to sky rocketing growth.
A visionary is critical for every business to guide your vision and execution.
