TI CEO Podcast · episode 14
Big vision, small steps
1-minute summary
In this episode of his CEO diary, Christoph Standl talks about the other side of thinking big: discipline and execution. You can have the greatest vision in the world, develop strategies and write plans – at some point the moment comes when you have to start, and that path usually begins with a fairly small task: a phone call, an email, an offer, a customer meeting, a decision, an hour of focused work. A company is not created by the big milestones you remember later, but above all by the many ordinary days in between. Big goals are not reached through big words, but through many small completed tasks. He is experiencing this right now with the podcast itself: he set out to produce five episodes a week on weekdays. Instead of perfecting each one for days, he records several in a row, uploads and schedules them – and then the task is done. Because motivation and energy are not the same every day; in the long run it makes an enormous difference whether you only start things or also finish them. The vision gives the direction, discipline makes sure you actually move in that direction. What suddenly looks big from the outside is hundreds or thousands of small steps before it. His question: which one task can you really complete today that brings you closer to your long-term goal? Not start – complete. Big changes often begin with small daily steps.
Description
Big goals and big visions are important. But a vision alone achieves nothing at first. In this episode of my CEO diary I talk about the other side of thinking big: Discipline and execution. A company is not created only by the big milestones we remember later. It is created above all by the many ordinary days in between. A phone call. An email. An offer. A customer meeting. A decision. Or simply a task that is consistently completed. I am experiencing that right now even with this podcast. I have set out to produce episodes regularly. Instead of endlessly perfecting each episode, I record several in a row, upload them and schedule them for the coming week. For me that too is a form of discipline: Not just starting, but finishing. Because motivation is not the same every day. That's exactly why thinking big and discipline belong directly together for me. The vision gives me the direction. Discipline makes sure I actually move in that direction. My central insight: Big goals are not reached through big words, but through many small completed tasks. And my question to you: Which one task can you really complete today that brings you a small step closer to your long-term goal? Not just start. Complete. Because big visions need small steps – and small steps need discipline. Big changes often begin with small daily steps.