Hi S==
It was nice meeting you at the party last week!
Let me put what I think about the discussion theme. When I first saw the discussion title, two questions popped out in my minds.
“Do we need big dreams?”
“Does having a big dream do good?”
I have never had a big dream. I have even had a tiny dream. Just as said in Buddhism lessons, “Taru wo Shiru” is always in my mind. And there is another thing in my mind taught by my mother. If someone gives me an opportunity then I should reward him with the very best of myself.
I am a sole proprietor. And my job is surely so unique that no one could find any competitors of mine. I did not dream of this business. I was asked by a few company presidents to start a business like this 14 years ago. They asked me so because they merely needed it.
I am not specialized in any field of business. I am not specialized in any industry either. So whenever a new task is presented to me, I have to research thoroughly and have to learn a lot. The last 14 years of my business has been the cyclic reciprocation of tasks presented, learning very hard, solving somehow, and new potential added to my business. I work not like fabulous consultants but like some carpenters or gardeners to complete each job site as immaculately as possible.
There are many young entrepreneurs who ask me what my vision is. They often have visions of their own to make their way according to it. They are not quite successful in their business and are somewhat puzzled. I usually tell them to forget their dreams and to focus on having whoever pays them say thank you to them. Their businesses get better after a while.
As far as I know, the recent study of business strategy is inclined not to build a firm strategy of the organization. It, instead, simply attempts to formulate the overall learning behaviors to materialize innovative organization. If you innovate so often to adapt to the environment, dreams may not be formed well with very limited information and insufficient expertise at each moment.
(I am a big fan of Mintzberg. I am sorry that my English is too poor to explain it correctly.)
Well, Sa==’s endeavor above may change the situations and may save some puzzled youngsters. So far, there seem to be numerous young people around me that would be happier without the big dreams and the clear future visions.