A convenient way to think of the strategy for success is to picture a three-leg stool. The stool represents the organization supported by three legs, which symbolize these key ingredients. Each leg has very separate and distinct attributes and each is critical to the survival of the organization. The legs of the stool are visionary leadership , internal data from employees and external data from the customers of the organization. The first leg or element is visionary leadership .
Any organization comes into existence because of a vision.
Sometimes the vision lasts, remaining clear and compelling. Other times the original vision fades, as does the relevance of the organization. In quiet times, leadership often is simply called upon to maintain and refine goals for an organization. In such tranquil conditions once an organization hits upon a successful product or service, it can expect to see it have a lifetime of decades before obsolescence sets in. Today, however, products or services may have a brief lifetime measured by a few years or even just months.