Lesson #30 Hear the Future

Great programmers don’t just hear the station they have.

They hear the station it can become.

Early in my programming career, my boss would regularly ask me:

“How are we doing?”

My answer was usually:

“We’re getting there.”

One day, he finally asked:

“When are we going to get there?”

I said:

“Never.”

He looked at me like I was crazy.

But I meant it.

Because I wasn’t focused on where we were.

I was focused on where we were going.

That’s vision.

You have to be able to hear the station you want to create before it exists.

To see what it can become—not just what it is today.

Then start building toward it.

Because if you’re only managing the station you have today, you’re already behind.

Great programmers are always listening for what’s next.

What’s missing?

What could be better?

Where are we going?

Vision gives you a destination.

It helps you make better decisions.

It tells you what to pursue—and what to say no to.

But vision can’t live only in the Program Director’s head.

Your team has to hear it, too.

They need to understand where you’re going, what you’re trying to create, and the role they play in getting there.

Because a vision that lives only in your head is just an idea.

A shared vision becomes a direction.

The goal isn’t change for the sake of change.

It’s seeing what your station can become before everyone else does—and leading people toward it.

Hear the station you want to create.

Help everyone else hear it.

Then create it.

Takeaway:

You have to hear the future before you can create it.