Mark C. Winters explains helicopter visionaries: leaders who swoop in unpredictably and disrupt their teams' work. He argues they should use five tools and five rules to stay engaged without breaking momentum, and recommends Rocket Fuel resources to build better visionary-integrator partnerships.
Hi everybody, it's Mark C. Winners. And today I want to talk to you about something we call helicopter visionaries. So if you'll check out my illustration for this week, that is a, you guessed it, that's a helicopter. And so when I think of helicopters, I've ridden in a helicopter, haven't been around them a lot and really I tend to think of old movies and I think about the helicopter coming in for a landing and the blades are just whipping around and everybody's kind of ducking their heads and there's stuff flying everywhere because of the, the wind that's getting kicked up and it's just really chaotic. And that's why that term is so appropriate because that's the kind of situation we get when the visionary is not really fully participating in the process. So we have lots of end runs going on and we have the visionary sort of tampering or tinkering. And a term that's become popular of late is actually seagull managing where the team is focused and they're trying to do the right thing, they're trying to execute and the visionary just kind of flies in and just sort of craps all over the place and then flies away. And I want you to know that that's so disruptive to the team that's trying to do the right thing. They're trying to take the greater good in the long term view for the company. So the irony of this whole situation is that by the visionary doing just kind of whatever they want to do, they're unlikely to get what they want to get from their business. So you have a choice as the visionary. You can do what's best for the company or you can do what you want to do. And it's really your choice. The bottom line is visionaries to make this thing work, to make this thing go to that next level, we need you to get engaged. And engagement is simply this. If you will use the five tools and the five rules and commit to that and commit to really being a part of that process, it's going to get you what you want. Alright, so three key ideas to wrap this one up. Number one, you got to decide is it, is it what's going to be best for you or what's best for the company. And number two, you got to get engaged. And number three, engagement is simply that use the five tools and the five rules. Thanks for watching. Today at Rocket Fuel Ventures, we're all about creating the most powerful visionary integrator duos on the planet. And we do that by helping you crystallize what it means to be a visionary and an integrator so you can understand if that concept can help you, and if you decide it can, to get connected with your complementary counterpart and then finally maximize that relationship to make it everything it can be to help you take your company to the next level. So if you want more rocket Fuel, please check out our website@rocketfuelnow.com and that's where you can sign up for the weekly videos like this. Be sure you're getting these on a regular basis. You can also take the assessments so you can understand, as a visionary or as an integrator, where your strengths lie and what the shape is of your two piece puzzles that can help you find that complementary counterpart. And finally, of course, read the book Rocket Fuel and keep those great reviews coming. So until next time, go Rocket.
