You Didn’t Lose Your Vision, You Loaned It Out

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WAYNE RIVERS: Hi, everyone. This is Wayne Rivers at Performance Construction Advisors where We Build Better Contractors.

This week I want to talk about vision. You didn't lose your vision, you loaned it out and never got it back. And the subtitle is How Approval, Obligation, and Urgency Quietly Replaced Everything You Actually Set Out to Build. This is from an article via Arlin Sorenson, Clarence Stowers' blog. And I think it's so on point for so many of our contractors who get caught up in the busyness of their companies. They start off, they come in on Monday. There's two or three super high priority items they want to get done and urgency, the needs of other people, the siren call of everything going on in the business sort of distracts them from their highest, most important priorities.

So this is from Stowers. "Number one, you did not lose your vision. You loaned it out one yes at a time over 10 years. Two, availability is not calling. Being great at serving other people's visions does not mean yours matters less. Number three, the man who keeps saying he'll get to it becomes the man who never did. Number four, reclaiming your vision starts with one specific act of refusal. Not a plan, not a system, one specific act. Number five, the next 20 years are built in decisions you make this week."

Your future starts with decisions that you make right now and that's life. Life is nothing more than the accumulation of all the decisions that we make. And it sounds sort of antiseptic to say that, but that tends to be true. All right, what does Stowers say about loaning out your vision? You keep saying yes to others because saying no feels like abandonment or maybe even betrayal. And we're nice people. We want to think of ourselves as kind and caring and giving people. And we just say yes to way too many things, which keeps us focusing on the big yes that we see in the future for ourselves.

Now what about this is important to you? Does this not apply to all of us? Do we not all say yes to things that maybe we probably shouldn't? Do I really need to be on another board? I think I'm done with boards. Oh my, I have stories. Do I need to be on another board? Do I need to go to another meeting? Do I need this? Do I need to do that? Do I really, really, really need to be there? And how does it advance my goals if I participate in that? You're not lazy. It's not a time management thing. You're overextended pursuing other people's priorities. That's what it amounts to.

Stowers wrote, "Your vision is patient. It will wait forever if you let it." And that's true. If you don't make your vision the priority, other people's visions will crowd it out. I believe it's absolutely true. He says, "You got to say no to things that actually matter." It's true. You've got to find ways to say no so that you can say yes to your highest priorities. So he says, "Number one, name your vision." You might say name your goal, but name your vision. Our vision is to be the company the contractors turn to for a better life. Not a better, more profitable construction company, not higher net margins, not more volume, a better life is what we're after for our contractors.

So name your vision. It's got to be one line. It's got to be simple language. It's got to be completely memorable under pressure. Don't do this thing where people craft these crazy elaborate mission or vision statements and no one could remember it under pressure if they had to. It's just one line and keep it super simple. And if you could get it down to three words or six words or eight words or whatever it is, do that. Keep cutting, keep winnowing, keep honing that thing down to perfection.

Number two, "Find the one recurring yes that costs you the most." For me, since May of 2025, it was being on a board that turned out to suck more time and energy out of all of us on the board, all five of us, than we could have ever imagined. If we had known, I guess we should have known in hindsight, but if we had known, we probably would not have agreed to serve on that board.

Number three, "Put your own vision first this week, today in fact." Have that vision in your mind and put it first. Find ways, carve out time. It's not a time management problem, but it is. Carve out time to make your vision the priority in your life. Whether you're the leader, the owner of a construction company, or whether you're a project manager working for a construction company, an estimator or laborer, whatever it is, find a way to make your vision the priority. And you can fit your vision into the vision for the construction company. That's not in question.

Finally, stop waiting for things to slow down. They will never slow down. So we talk to people and, "Oh, well, it's tax season and I've got to work with my CPA and controller to get my taxes together. After April 15th, we can talk." Or, "July 4th is coming up," or, "Labor Day is coming up," or, "The holidays are coming up. Call me after January 1st and we'll pursue this important project." It's never going to slow down, folks. I can count on one hand in 37 years the number of times that people say, "Let's put it off for 30 days, 60 days a year," and that's actually come back to help them. It's usually more haunting than helpful. Don't get me started. We could be here all day and we don't want that. Start now pursuing your vision with a sense of urgency.

I'd like to hear from you. Email me, [email protected]. This is Wayne Rivers at PCA where We Build Better Contractors.

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