It just happened.

A friend, who had turned entrepreneur about 18 months back, suggested that I
conduct a training for his team. Checked with another two entrepreneur friends and they also agreed to
the idea.
Next question; Training on what? Finally, we decided to have two sessions of 4 hours each focused on
Envisioning and titled the event as 'Flying into the Future'. It was during the preparations for this event, I
better understood the term 'Envisioning'. This revelation was more important as I too had turned
entrepreneur about 6 months back. I had certainly carried out good amount of research and had
discussions with well-wishers on the likely Vision-Mission of my enterprise while incorporating. Yet,
finally had chosen to have Mission only to begin with because the Vision was not coming out clearly.
Interestingly and coincidentally before this program, I had done an intensive program with about 100
students of a local management school on Envisioning the career.
Then, what is this fuller understanding of the term 'Envisioning' that I derived?
Before 'Flying into the Future', I was more caught on the conceptual parts of Envisioning. Nothing amiss
with that. It is just that, I used one concept to support the other concept, when discussing with others
on the topic. This was possibly making the discussion concept-heavy. After conducting the event for
three entrepreneur friends' teams, I have developed a refined understanding of the process of
Envisioning. In addition and in retrospect, the title of the program has been just apt. Because, by being
in the present, one cannot have a feel of the situation that lies in the future. Therefore, one ought to 'Fly
into the Future'. It is about the quality & power of imagination.
In a program on Envisioning I had participated about 15 years back, the facilitator had asked, "What
obituary you would wish to have for your business?". Each participant had written a few lines. Then the
facilitator asked, "Why would you wish to have an obituary for your business at all?" After a momentary
jolt, everyone caught the hint that Envisioning is about creating a sustainable business. It is also about
creating a legacy that at least one more generation would like to build upon further. This also implied
that Envisioning is road that always runs parallel to the operations and offers a benchmark.
During the preparations, I recalled my experiences such as above and came to realize that if one were to
build a legacy, then flying into the future is essential. Not just once, but many a times during the
childhood and adulthood of the enterprise and before it turns an organization or an institution. The
purpose of these flights, especially during tumultuous times, would be to read & grapple with the vision
again, understand each word thoroughly, and return energized.
I now see a firm linkage between Envisioning and Institution building. In a way, both are sides of the
same coin. If the vision is well crafted and woven carefully into the organization's fabric, chances are
that the organization would turn into an institution comparatively at a faster pace. The key premise here
is that the fabric is dry-cleaned regularly & washed occasionally.
Another key aspect I understood in more breadth is about the core team. By convention, those who
come together to start the enterprise and/or those who join in the early days form the core team.

Nothing amiss. It is only that the times have changed and it is completely possible that a core team
member is neither. How? There can be an individual, who moves around the fence (as his/her business)
and helps the leader(s) navigate. He / she is neither a mentor nor an angel investor nor a venture
capitalist. He is like a fish that occasionally pops out of water and share the pearls of wisdom. He / she
systematically learns from one team & shares with the other and in the process produces a multiplier
effect.
One more aspect I have a better grip now is, that as an entrepreneur, I must wear only one or at best
two hats. I mean that an entrepreneur should never get into doing everything himself / herself. No
doubt, it is his / her idea that has created the enterprise, but he / she will have blurred vision if many
hats are on the skull. It is utmost important for the entrepreneur to decide his / her mastery area(s),
wear that hat only, and for other requirements, either in-source or outsource, right at the start. Let
there be a clear conception, proper pregnancy, and a perfect delivery.
For clarification, I in no way imply forecasting the future by the phrase 'Flying into the Future'. As I have
come to understand, Envisioning is an art of logically extrapolating the existing status of the identified
area and creating an innovation or a discovery (can be a product, a service, a process, or a combination)
around the 'extrapolated' view. Once done and / or after the first success or setback, it is always a time
and necessary to go back to vision or 'Fly into the Future' again, to reinforce the purpose of the
enterprise and gain new energy to push the product / service / process harder and the cycle continues.