One of the most fulfilling parts of my role as an executive coach is helping clients pursue their most ambitious goals. I get to work with people who are sitting on big ideas and big visions, and my job is to help them move from dreaming to doing.
A pivotal moment in my own story came in 2010. I was running a successful web agency — things were going well by most measures. But I had a eureka moment. I bought my first iPhone and something clicked. I saw, with absolute clarity, where consumer technology was heading. On returning to the UK, I announced that we were now a mobile app agency. Colleagues thought I was crazy.
Twelve months later, we were working with Apple, Microsoft, the BBC, and a roster of other major clients. We had grown faster than I could have planned for. The vision, paired with decisive action, had created something extraordinary.
The lesson I carry from that experience: if you have a eureka moment, follow your gut. Don't wait for data or validation — that's simply a sign that someone else is already there, doing what you know is right. There is almost nothing as powerful as a person with a genuine vision and a genuine mission. Almost every successful company — from Microsoft to Nike to Amazon — started in exactly the same way.
Dare to Dream Big and you might just get what you dream of!
A word of caution: visionary leadership paired with decisive action creates competitive advantage, but not every bold move lands exactly as planned. My outsourced development centre initiative didn't succeed as envisioned. That matters too — holding conviction while remaining honest about outcomes is part of the discipline.
As 2020 begins, the question for you is: what is your eureka moment? What do you know to be true that others are still debating? That's your starting line.