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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building and GOALAGV. This

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<v Speaker 1>is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul Fellowledo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode six forty eight. Let me ask you something.

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<v Speaker 2>If I walked up to you right now and said,

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<v Speaker 2>tell me your vision in ninety seconds or less, could

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<v Speaker 2>you do it? Not your mission statement from a laminated card,

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<v Speaker 2>not a paragraph filled with corporate buzzwords, not something you

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<v Speaker 2>copied from a strategic planning document. I mean your vision, clear, concise, compelling,

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<v Speaker 2>Because here's the reality. If you cannot explain where you're

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<v Speaker 2>going in ninety seconds, your team cannot follow you for

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<v Speaker 2>ninety ti days. Vision is not the poster on the wall.

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<v Speaker 2>Vision is direction under pressure. It is clarity when things

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<v Speaker 2>get loud. It is the filter that decides what you

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<v Speaker 2>say yes to and what you shut down. And most

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<v Speaker 2>leaders are terrible at articulating it. They think vision has

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<v Speaker 2>to be complex. They think it needs charts and bullet

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<v Speaker 2>points and five year road maps. They confuse strategy with vision.

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<v Speaker 2>Vision is not the spreadsheet. Vision is the headline. Here's

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<v Speaker 2>how this works. A ninety second vision statement should answer

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<v Speaker 2>three questions, where are we going, Why does it matter?

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<v Speaker 2>What does it look like when we get there? That's it.

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<v Speaker 2>If you need ten minutes to explain your future, you

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<v Speaker 2>don't have clarity, you have clutter. I've seen leaders with

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<v Speaker 2>million dollar budgets stumble over this question, and I've seen

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<v Speaker 2>frontline supervisors nail it in under a minute. The difference

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<v Speaker 2>is not education, it is ownership. When you own the direction,

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<v Speaker 2>you can speak it without notes. Your ninety second vision

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<v Speaker 2>statement should feel like a rally point, something your team

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<v Speaker 2>can repeat when you're not in the room, something that

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<v Speaker 2>cuts through the noise when someone says why are we

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<v Speaker 2>doing this? Because if your people cannot repeat your vision,

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<v Speaker 2>they will replace it with their own version, and that

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<v Speaker 2>is when culture starts drifting. Let me give you an example.

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<v Speaker 2>Instead of saying we want to improve operational efficiencies and

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<v Speaker 2>maximize stakeholder engagement over the next fiscal cycle, say this,

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<v Speaker 2>over the next year, we're going to become the most

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<v Speaker 2>reliable team in our region. When someone calls us, they

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<v Speaker 2>know it will be handled right the first time. We

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<v Speaker 2>respond faster or communicate better, and leave zero doubt about

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<v Speaker 2>our standards. That is vision. It paints a picture simple,

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<v Speaker 2>it's measurable. It feels like something. Your ninety second should

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<v Speaker 2>create emotion, not hype, not theatrics, but conviction. Here's the

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<v Speaker 2>part most leaders miss. You have to repeat it until

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<v Speaker 2>you're tired of hearing it. Then repeat it more. People

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<v Speaker 2>do not buy into what you say. Once they buy

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<v Speaker 2>into what you consistently reinforce every meeting, every decision, every correction,

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<v Speaker 2>tie it back to the vision. If the vision is excellence,

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<v Speaker 2>then sloppy work gets addressed. If the vision is growth,

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<v Speaker 2>then stagnation gets challenged. If the vision is service, then

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<v Speaker 2>ego gets checked at the door. Vision is not inspiration alone.

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<v Speaker 2>Vision is accountability with a destination. Now let's raise the

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<v Speaker 2>standard a bit. Your ninety second vision statement should also

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<v Speaker 2>survive pressure. It should still make sense when revenue dips.

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<v Speaker 2>It should still guide decisions when you lose a key employee.

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<v Speaker 2>It should still hold up when someone questions your direction.

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<v Speaker 2>If your vision only works when everything is smooth, it's

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<v Speaker 2>not vision. It's a wish. Strong leaders test their vision.

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<v Speaker 2>They ask, does this still guide us when the heat

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<v Speaker 2>is on? Does this help my team make better decisions

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<v Speaker 2>without me? Because that is the goal. The real test

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<v Speaker 2>of vision is whether your team can act correctly when

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<v Speaker 2>you're not present. If you're only one who if you're

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<v Speaker 2>the only one who understands where you're going, you're not leading.

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<v Speaker 2>You're just dragging. So let me challenge you with something practical.

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<v Speaker 2>Take out a piece of paper today and set a

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<v Speaker 2>timer for ten minutes. Write your vision in plain language,

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<v Speaker 2>then read it out loud. If it sounds like a

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<v Speaker 2>press release, rewrite it. Cut to the fluff, remove the jargon,

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<v Speaker 2>make it real. Then trim it down until it fits

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<v Speaker 2>into ninety seconds of clear speech. When you're done, deliver

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<v Speaker 2>it to someone you trust and ask them does this

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<v Speaker 2>make you want to be part of it? If they hesitate,

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<v Speaker 2>you're not done yet. Remember clarity is a leadership weapon.

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<v Speaker 2>People crave direction. They want to know that the person

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<v Speaker 2>at the front sees something beyond today. Your ninety second

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<v Speaker 2>vision statement becomes the anchor. It stabilizes teams during chaos.

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<v Speaker 2>It keeps meetings from wandering, It protects standards. And here's

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<v Speaker 2>something else. When you can articulate your vision in ninety seconds,

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<v Speaker 2>you start making sharper decisions because now you have a filter.

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<v Speaker 2>Does this move us closer to that picture. Does this

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<v Speaker 2>align with who we said we are becoming? If not,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a distraction. That is how you cut through red tape.

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<v Speaker 2>That is how you strip out nonsense. You run everything

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<v Speaker 2>through the lens of your ninety second future. Too many

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<v Speaker 2>leaders spend hours building slides. Spend those hours building clarity instead,

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<v Speaker 2>because at the end of the day, nobody remembers Slide seventeen.

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<v Speaker 2>They remember how you made them feel about where they

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<v Speaker 2>are headed. So if you want to lead at a

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<v Speaker 2>higher level, start here, not with another certification, not with

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<v Speaker 2>another book, Start with your ability to say clearly and confidently,

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<v Speaker 2>this is where we are going and this is why

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<v Speaker 2>it matters ninety seconds. That is all it takes to

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<v Speaker 2>reveal whether you truly own your direction. So your leadership

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<v Speaker 2>challenge this week is simple. Craft your ninety second vision

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<v Speaker 2>statement and deliver it to your team. Say it without notes,

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<v Speaker 2>say it with conviction, then repeat it until your team

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<v Speaker 2>can say it back to you. Clarity creates confidence, Confidence

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<v Speaker 2>creates momentum, and momentum builds legacy. And if you want

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<v Speaker 2>more free leadership resources, head to Paulfolovalito dot com and

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<v Speaker 2>click on free stuff. I have over twenty five free

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<v Speaker 2>leadership documents you can use starting today. This has been

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<v Speaker 2>the seven minute Leadership Podcast and I thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more Paul Fello Alito podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com