It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership Quotes
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Source: It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership
Author: Colin Powell
"Have a vision. Be demanding."
Have a vision. Be demanding.
Followers need to know where their leaders are taking them and for what purpose. Mission, goals, strategy, and vision are conventional terms to indicate what organizations set out to accomplish. These are excellent and useful words, but I have come to prefer another and I believe better term—purpose.
Context
This line was written by Colin Powell in It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership (2012).
Okay, so this quote wasn't exactly fresh as a daisy in 2012 when Colin Powell wrote it down in his book. It was actually from a list of "13 Rules for Living" that was part of an interview he did with Parade magazine way back in 1989. But, in 2012, he finally decided to expand on those ideas, which he had decided were actually pretty darn good.
Here, Powell is saying that in order to succeed in life, you've got to have a vision. You've got to be able to see where you're going. You've got to know what you're purpose is and how you're going to get from point A to point B. This actually makes a lot of sense. If you don't have a clue about what you want to do, then how can you do it? Oh, the wisdom of Rule #11.
Where you've heard it
You might have stumbled across Colin Powell's "13 Rules" before, but this one is a special favorite. You'll hear it quoted anytime anyone has the vision to reach for the stars.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
It's not pretentious to have a little vision and be a little demanding. You go ahead and quote Colin Powell's rules to your heart's content. Of course, you might want to avoid mentioning the Pottery Barn rule…