After working with and studying many high-performing CEOs, I’ve found one consistent trait: “The most successful CEOs don’t just react faster—they see further. What sets them apart isn’t luck or genius, but a set of disciplined practices that helps them anticipate change and shape the future.”

• Jeff Bezos: Investing in AWS long before cloud became mainstream.
• Lisa Su: Doubling down on advanced chip design and long-term R&D at AMD.
• Steve Jobs: Bet on iPod and iTunes ecosystem before the digital music revolution peaked.

Why is it important to develop the skill to become a Visionary CEO?

In a study conducted in 2017 by McKinsey & Company where they analyzed 615 large and mid-cap US companies from 2001 to 2015 revealed that firms with a long-term orientation experienced:

• 47% higher cumulative revenue growth
• 36% higher cumulative earnings growth
• 81% higher cumulative economic profit
• $7 billion more in market capitalization on average
• Creation of nearly 12,000 additional jobs per company over the period

These companies also exhibited greater resilience during economic downturns and faster recovery post-crisis.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/long-term-capitalism/where-companies-with-a-long-term-view-outperform-their-peers

Jim Collins said it best in his book, Good to Great,

“Disciplined People, Disciplined Thought, Disciplined Action”.

Great Leaders are disciplined at living by a set of specific practices that will allow them to unlock future value to support the long-term growth of their business. In my experience CEOs don’t start out as visionary. They build the capacity to see further through living by the following 5 long-term thinking practices:

Practice One: They Schedule Weekly Time for Strategic Study

They carve out dedicated time every week to examine high-quality data, looking for patterns, theme, and opportunities that may not yet be obvious to others to create future value to solve an issue or to generate a new opportunity by analyzing:

1. Client insights
2. Market trends
3. Technology advancements
4. Financial information
5. Operational data
6. Industry and Global Business information

Practice Two: They Practice Being Curious Daily by:

1. Being a Learner by being open to trying new things, embracing others feedback and to being challenged to step out of their comfort zone.
2. Asking thoughtful questions to disrupt beliefs and assumptions.
3. Being an observer of my conversations and environments with intention through:
   
   1. Looking
   2. Listening
   3. Sensing Moods and Emotions
   4. Running small, low-risk experiments to test their ideas.

Practice Three: They Prioritize Reflective Thinking

Reflection isn’t a luxury – it’s a habit. In their time of focus and concentration they are connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated insights or ideas, forming unique perspectives and foresight.

Practice Four: They Network with Possibility Thinkers

They surround themselves with other visionary leaders who challenge, stretch and expand their thinking.

Practice Five: They are Action Focused!

The final practice that gives them credibility as a Visionary leader is they are willing to take the risk and put their ideas and insights into action.

CEO Challenge: This week, block one hour to:

1. Reflect on a core business challenge.
2. Review key client and market data for trends.
3. Ask a disruptive question about one assumption you’re holding.
4. Call one fellow leader to explore new possibilities.

Seeing further starts with one disciplined hour.

 
Written by Eric Crowell – CEO and Founder of Awesome Journey Inc.