This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on September 17, 2018 - September 23, 2018

“The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.” — Helen Keller, American deaf and blind educator and activist (1880-1968)

If you have been following the local news these past few weeks, you would have chanced upon our prime minister’s scathing opinion about his Cabinet. Well known for being hard to please, he remarked that he was not satisfied with the performance of the recently appointed ministers. It could well be that he was playing to the gallery (we Malaysians have been complaining of late about the trite and tiny matters that certain ministers have focused on), but affairs of state are not trivial matters.

There is this pervading perception that the Cabinet is acting more like a flotilla of fishing boats on a weekend expedition instead of a disciplined naval armada on a defence exercise.

And I think I know why — the shared vision of this motley crew of ministers is not crystal clear. They have been thrown into the deep-end without the benefit of hindsight or experience. The situation is further muddied by the bickering in a key component party getting ready for internal elections.

Few things inspire trust or hope like every member of a team working together towards a shared vision. That is what I believe the people voted the government in for — an action-oriented government to right perceived wrongs.

A clear vision unifies and motivates. We see this in team sports all the time. Certain teams, often lacking a big-name superstar, seem to gel or come together at just the right moment. Often, when interviewed after the game, the players will comment on how focused they were on the common goal. When the players understand their role as well as the larger strategy and vision, the ground is fertile for success to grow. We need the government to take a leaf out of the sports team’s play book and come together quickly as there is too much at stake for the people.

Vision affects the way we work in every imaginable way, from how we answer the phone to how we describe our job, because it affects the way we feel about those things. People do small, even menial tasks differently when they are inspired by a great vision.

If the prime minister’s recent assertions are right, and he has to now repair a badly dented government machinery, then there is all the more reason for his vision to be transmitted clearly and consistently to his team members. Five years to the next election is not a long time.

If you are a leader in your organisation, share your vision consistently. If you are not, sharing your vision every 30 days, I warrant that team does not know it. A clear vision inspires, unifies, and gives a powerful focus. This is why I am always disheartened when I visit an organisation and learn that no one can tell me about the company’s vision or mission. A clear simple vision has a bulls-eye painted on it for everyone to focus on.

Vision can get a bad rap too. It is often used as a kind of soft metaphor, something to talk about when you do not have a concrete strategy in place. This is selling the concept short. Vision is not a replacement for strategy; it is the reason why you have a strategy. Strategy strengthens your effort in reaching out towards a vision.

Allow me to give you an example from the business world. Google has become the web user’s favourite search engine. Type a term or phrase in the Google box and what follows is a list of sites containing the relevant information you require. Quick and easy.

Google was not the first search engine to enter the market, yet it has climbed its way up to the dominant position with 90% market share. All of this success comes even though Google was little more than an idea two decades ago. So how did Google get to be so big?

The answer can be traced to the clarity of Google’s vision. Its mission is simple: “To organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” This includes everything from the company’s magnificently simple home page to the complicated algorithm that generates results.

Another example: IKEA grew because its founder had a clear vision of providing folks with quality assemble-it-yourself furniture at knock-down prices. Since its founding in 1953, IKEA has doubled in size every four years. What began as a small showroom to support IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad’s mail-order furniture business in Stockholm, IKEA now has stores in 53 countries and is still growing. IKEA’s loyal worldwide following all began with Kamprad’s clear vision of “bringing high quality furniture to the public at discounted prices”.

So, I humbly posit here that to provide the nation with the good governance it deserves, and to continue driving Malaysia on its growth trajectory, our present government must make known very clearly its vision for Malaysia’s future to replace its election manifesto, which was at best, vague and populist. Only then can the ministerial cogs in parliament move in the same direction. I am hopeful and will continue to pray for a better Malaysia on the eve of Sept 16, our 45th Hari Malaysia.

Zakie Shariff is managing partner of Kuber Venture Bhd, a specialist investment company. He is also a director of Universiti Malaysia Pahang.

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's AppStore and Androids' Google Play.