Where There Is No Vision, The People Perish

One of my favorite quotes on leadership isn’t really a quote; it’s a proverb. Proverbs 29:18 says “where there is no vision, the people perish”. Regardless of your faith or beliefs, the verse has merit. The verse very simply highlights the primary mission or importance of a leader – to cast a vision and provide direction into the future. To paint a picture of our potential for all to see.

The best leaders are visionary. They aren’t limited to doing things in the same ways that we’ve always done them. They aren’t obsessed with getting the credit, and perfectly happy to share the spotlight (or better yet, avoid it all together). They understand the value of unity. Augusta has faired very well, and has received countless accolades over the last two years, but the region could be so much more. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

I was in a meeting recently with Dr. Marc Miller, Dean of the Hull College of Business at Augusta State University. Dr. Miller noted that in 1970 the Augusta-Aiken Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) area was very comparable in size, resources and other demographics to Austin, TX; Albuquerque, NM; and Raleigh, NC; but that doesn’t hold true today. The Augusta-Aiken MSA has roughly 540,000 people while Austin, TX is home to 1.8 million people, Raleigh has more than 1.7 million people, and Albuquerque has roughly 1 million people. What can we learn from their growth?

Those MSAs today are 2 to 3 times the size of this region. In all three cases, the communities in the region came together and defined a singular vision for the whole region and then were conscious and deliberate in the execution of that vision. They came together to dream a singular dream. A big dream. A grand vision. One vision for one region.

For us in the CSRA, our challenge is a little different only because we have allowed the Savannah River to separate us, and limit the size of our vision and lesson the scope of the dream. That cannot continue; the stakes are too high. Our communities are so intertwined we cannot continue to plan independently of one another.

One vision, one region. This vision can only be accomplished with real leadership. President Harry S. Truman once said, “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

This region has the men and women capable of developing the vision. I know we do. I’ve seen them all cast visions for their relative communities. It’s time to think bigger! It’s time to be bolder!

Over the next several months we have a couple of opportunities to come together as a region. On September 30th we will serve as the regional host for the Dave Ramsey Day-Long EntreLeadership Simlucast. The simulcast is a great opportunity to get the inspirational, motivational juices flowing, and then on October 20th, we will be host to the State of the Region Update. Click Here for more information.

The State of the Region event will bring together Mayor Jones from North Augusta, Mayor Copenhaver from Augusta, Chairman Young from Aiken County, Chairman Cross from Columbia County, and Chairman Campbell from Edgefield County. We will also hear from Dr. Moody, DOE-SR Manager, and hopefully Col. Robert Barker, new Garrison Commander at Fort Gordon.

Where are we going as a region? How do we get there from here? Most importantly, who is driving?

In closing, I will simply leave you with two final quotes.

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.” – John Buchan

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chamber News . Latest News . Local Issues