The Wisdom of Titans: Secrets of Success from Entrepreneurs Who Rose to the Top

Chapter Six

Create Value out of a Vision

To build a successful business, you’ve got to have a vision of what you think that business is and what it could become, and how to translate that vision into something operational and meaningful to your employees, customers, and other stakeholders.

—Robert L. Johnson, Founder, Former Chairman, and CEO, Black Entertainment Television

All entrepreneurs have ideas, but not all of those ideas translate into value. The differentiator is vision. The gestation from idea to vision requires several elements to be brought together, crystallizing what may be largely in an entrepreneur’s brain into a tangible and executable plan. Vision moves beyond the initial idea of what an entrepreneur believes and adds the ...