Build It And They Will Come .

There are countless ideas about what leadership is, but one of my favorites is the idea that a leader has a vision and then begins to build toward it knowing that the process of building itself will attract the right people to help achieve the vision. You remember the line from the movie Field of Dreams, “Build it and they will come.” The idea that even if you don’t have everything in this very moment, if you move forward and go the distance, you will get what you need.

Some of the best leaders do this and talented, great people notice and want to be a part of it. Why? Because these leaders create a field and framework that then allows others to discover and develop their own talents, skills and ideas all the while bettering both the company and the individual. Ambitious people want to work where they have a chance to grow and be great.

But there are tons of businesses that believe the “build it and they will come” as an unshakeable truism. Like, hey, if I have a good idea and go for it, it’s all sure to happen right? No, in fact far more people fail than ever even get close to making that big idea a big reality.

If I had a dime for every time someone told me that they had a really great business idea, I’d likely be retired. And if even a fraction of those same people put the work in to executing the ideas, they might be successful. Ideas are limitless and we all have them but an idea isn’t enough without the passion and stamina to fuel the hard work. And by the way, even though our culture seems to love the overnight success stories, they almost never happen. Show me someone who has really created something great and chances are they have been at it for years, decades, their whole life!

So if you are a leader, build it and they may come. Keep at it, fuel it, and fuel yourself because it is a long game, but when everything comes together, it’s really quite something.