A vision of a game-changing future creates an exhilarating picture of a destination. The game plan describes the journey – how you will win "The Big Game". No game-changing future can be achieved without a strategy. It is a great feeling to be passionate and excited about an impossible future you have created, but if there is no strategy on how to win, your success is precarious at best. The game-changing future provides a platform for everyone to stand on, but the gameplan is where everyone can see how it is possible to win and how critical their role is to the achievement of a game-changing future.
Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, and his ascent as the democratically elected President of South Africa, represented a radical change in South Africa. Mandela believed he could bring his people together through the universal language of sport and he crafted a winning gameplan to rally his deeply divided country. He knew if the Springboks, South Africa’s national rugby team, could gain the support of non-white South Africans and succeed in the upcoming World Cup, the country would be unified and inspired. He had his game-changing future defined as creating a united South Africa and created a strategic gameplan to bring the country together. He negotiated the support of the Springboks and its captain, Francois Pienaar, to achieve his unrealistic goal of the Springboks winning the World Cup – even in the face of such rugby powerhouses the All-Blacks representing New Zealand. Mandela inspired Pienaar to lead by example. Much like Mandela had himself, and ultimately due to a winning gameplan, they created a game-changing future together – The Springboks became the 1995 Rugby World Cup champions and served as a uniting force across South Africa.
The gameplan, as well as a practical blueprint, is a strategic tool. It is a mechanism for leaders to rally people to take a stand for an exciting, game-changing future - just as Mandela did. It is an enabler for people to have the capacity to share in the vision by delineating roles and responsibilities, providing guiding principles, as well as documenting methodologies and actions within a single source. It is a “place” where people can come together to create a line of sight between the game-changing future and their role in it – but perh
ps most importantly, a place to come together to celebrate the achievements of key milestones on the way to the The Big Game.
A game-changing future without a gameplan is nothing more than a dream. A gameplan without a game-changing future is nothing more than a waste of time. A Game-changing Future with a Winning Gameplan is the courage and ability to change your world.
What’s your Winning Gameplan?
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of Leadership Across Boundaries & Borders.