Articles—Issue 21, April 2007 Back to Article Index Monovision I had Lasik surgery several years ago. I’m not really sure what the generic term for Lasik is but Lasik seems to have captured the same space as Charmin and Xerox; but that’s beside the point… I had one eye adjusted for near vision and one for far vision—they call it monovision. I guess double-vision flunked the marketing test. Sounds like it might make you nauseous, but it actually works quite well. I can see near and I can see far.   I frequently run into situations where a business would benefit from monovision. They have to simultaneously see near and far. It is one of the greatest challenges that a business executive faces from my perspective. It is too easy to get your head stuck either in the clouds or your in-basket.   We all know which business decision will naturally command the bulk of our attention; the one in front of our face. Sometimes it is the over-his-head employee who you really ought to replace, but what about that project he needs to finish? Sometimes it is the current opportunity for revenue that really doesn’t fit your skill set or your strategy, but how can you pass it up? Sometimes it is the investment in systems that will bring long-term benefit, but your partner wants a dividend check. You get the picture.   Public companies are hampered by having to report quarterly earnings. Most stockholders are about as anxious to wait around for a long-term payoff as a Democratic senator is for success in Iraq. Private companies can be just as pained depending upon the view of ownership.   Short term decisions can be in support of long-term vision (You have one, don’t you?) or they can lead you away from it. Balancing short-term and long-term is difficult, but you ought to have a way to do so. It starts with knowing what your vision is. As the old saying goes, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there!” There are some decision processes that you can put into place. Sometimes two questions are all you need: “Does this fit with my long-term vision?” and, “What is the Net Present Value of this decision?” (c)2007 by Tood Ordal. You are welcome to share this informational article with others. Todd Ordal is a business consultant helping executives struggling with execution. Prior to founding the consulting firm Applied Strategy LLC, Todd spent over 25 years in management and executive roles such as President and CEO. You can contact Todd at todd@appliedstrategy.info