Making decisions isn’t easy. In fact, many managers rank it as one of their greatest professional challenges. If you feel this weight, you are definitely not alone.
Last week, we began exploring the Decision-Making Paradox: Why the Best Leaders Don’t Decide (1/2), specifically looking at how core values act as the foundation for every choice. This week, I want to shift the focus to the second pillar: Vision.
The North Star vs. The GPS
During my interviews with 30 senior executives, one statement stood out and stayed with me. One leader claimed he doesn’t “make” decisions because his vision is so clear that his team already knows which path to take to pursue it.
Think of it like the GPS in your car:
The Destination: This is your Vision.
The Journey: This includes the detours, traffic jams, and obstacles.
When you input the destination into the GPS, the system doesn’t “struggle” with which turn to take; it simply navigates toward the goal. If your vision is clear, the navigation becomes automatic.
“Bernhard, Make Your Vision Clear”
Years ago, a mentor gave me a piece of advice that echoed exactly what that Senior Executive told me:
“Bernhard, if you want to be a great leader, you need to make your vision clear!”
But how? What actually is a vision?
My advice: Don’t overthink it. A vision is simply your guiding North Star. To help you find yours without the overwhelm, let’s use a powerful “backward approach” popularized by Sean Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
The Funeral Exercise: Working Backward
Imagine your own funeral. It sounds heavy, but it is the ultimate clarity tool. Ask yourself:
What would a family member say about you?
What would your best friend tell the audience?
What story would a business partner share?
Looking at your life from the finish line gives you a perspective that daily tasks cannot. It allows you to see the impact you want to have made before it’s too late.
3 Steps to Drafting Your Vision Statement
If you want to define your own North Star today, follow this simple framework:
Visualize the Future: Imagine your ideal life 5 years from now. What have you accomplished? What impact have you made?
The 10-Year Legacy Question: In 10 years, what is the one thing you want people to say has changed because you existed?
Identify Your Unique Tool: What is the specific “system” or “tool” you use better than anyone else to move toward that peak?
The Process: Write down 15–20 raw ideas. Don’t self-edit yet. Once they are on paper, refine them into a short, memorable, and actionable statement.
My Personal North Star
To give you an idea of how I separate Vision (the Where) from Mission (the How), here is mine:
My Vision: To inspire people and support them in reaching their goals.
My Mission: To show 100k people that even “impossible” goals can become side effects—provided you have the right tools and system.
What is your destination? If you don’t know where the GPS is headed, every turn feels like a difficult decision. Once you set the destination, the path starts to reveal itself.
All the best,
Bernhard
P.S. I’m currently on a multi-year journey to swim The Alpine Seven—339 km across seven iconic lakes—to raise awareness for people living with an illness and to prove that even impossible goals can be achieved with the right system in place. If you want to follow the journey and read my reflections during my time in the water—which is a lot of time—hit the button below.
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P.P.S. I plan to send this out every Friday morning 5 am CET. But as this is a human-to-human connection, please bear with me if life (or my kids) decides to “reorganize” my schedule. I’m a pretty good swimmer, but I haven’t figured out how to swim through a family emergency at a good speed yet! 😉
