Leading at PMI

Image of the Future

Think about the city of Paris, France, and record the first thing that comes to your mind ...

Was it the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Seine, Notre Dame, good food, wine, romance — all are images of real places and real sensations. Chances are that whatever came to your mind could be classified here.

Did you think about the square kilometers, population, or gross domestic product of Paris? Probably not; but why?

Human memory is stored in images and sensory impres­sions, not in numbers. We recall images of reality, not abstractions from reality



Inspire a Shared Vision


So what does this mean for leaders? It means that in order to envision the future, we must be able to draw upon that very mental process of creating images. When we in­vent the future, we need to get a mental picture of what things will be like long before we begin the journey.


Picture the Possibilities


Next time you open your mouth to speak about a future possibility, pause for a mo­ment. Take just a second to visualize the future state in your head. What does your image look like, feel like, sound like and even smell like? Now, use those images to speak about the future possibilities.