The mapmakers of old drew the known world—the continents and coastlines, oceans and oases, borders and boundaries. They knew their homelands of Europe, and the trade routes that had taken Marco Polo and others into Asia. To the west, though, lay the unknown—uncharted, unexplored, and inhabited by monsters. Those intrepid explorers looked west to anticipate what lay beyond the horizon, in preparation for one day sailing out of sight of the known world. These true voyagers were undeterred by those blank spaces scrawled with pictures of sea monsters and leviathans.
Journeys today require the same skills, as the leader anticipates what is likely to appear around the next bend or beyond the horizon, which others cannot yet see. In the metaphor of walking from New York to California, the direction is clear and the route is mapped out, but there will still be uncertainties, from weather conditions to detours for opportunities that arise. Changes along the way will be constant!
The leader starts with the reality of the “here and now” and uses intuition and intellect to project the next leg of the journey, based on what is anticipated. No matter how clear or concise the vision, however, conditions, ...
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