The Vision Code: How to Create and Execute a Compelling Vision for Your Business
Oleg Konovalov
Wiley (January 2021)

“Vision without execution is hallucination.”  Thomas Edison

Even if a company retained Oleg Konovalov to help its C-level executives to formulate a compelling vision, the success or failure of that vision would depend almost entirely on members of the given community. That said, the information, insights, and counsel he could provide — and in fact does provide in this volume — will substantially increase the nature and extent of stakeholder buy-in. They will also increase substantially its power and impact when the shared vision becomes a reality. Yes, Edison was a dreamer but he was also a doer. Everyone knows what the problems are. Visionaries offer solutions.

In The Vision Code, Konovalov draws upon decades of wide and deep real-world experience. He also shares what he learned during interviews of 19 exceptional visionaries from across the globe who represent different industries and backgrounds.

“This book attempts to find the golden ratio of vision and unlock this secret knowledge.” That is, reveal “the harmony and proportion in different spheres such as art, nature, math, design and the human body. We subconsciously prefer and admire objects and shapes that properly use the golden ratio.”

What elements or criteria define the greatness of a vision? Konovalov: “Vision must address people’s needs, be easy to understand, scalable and growing, lead to success, and stir the emotions. Every great vision has six firm criteria that reflect these properties: stimulus, scale, spotlight, scanning, simplicity and excitement.” He thoroughly explains each.

Most of those he interviewed cite excellent examples of the power and impact of a compelling vision.  They support Konovalov’s assertion that vision “is a decision to live different, with greater purpose. This is a very personal and conscious decision, not a random choice. This is a conscious choice made in the full knowledge that the path is difficult and success will be the result of long and hard work.”

These observations call to mind Winston Churchill’s “Blood, Toll, Tears, and Sweat” speech to the House of Commons  on May 13, 1940, FDR’s response on December 8, 1941, to the Pearl Harbor attack, Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963, and Ronald Reagan’s “Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger” address on January 28, 1986. All share heartfelt visions, driven by passion as well as by candor; also, they established and nourished a rapport with their audience then and continue to do so now.

When concluding his book, Oleg Konovalov acknowledges, “I’m still on a search for the golden ratio of vision.” However, what he shares will help his reader to gain “a greater understanding of vision as the fundamental force behind every great success, to question the status quo and boldly present new perspectives on old ideologies.”