On the meaning of being a visionary: An Arab prospective.

What Makes a Visionary ????

This question of what defines a visionary has always captivated my imagination.

For example, what compels someone to launch a podcast company ?? before anyone else, confidently predicting its future dominance in a specific region?

A visionary's hallmark is their ability to anticipate trends and changes before they become apparent to others. It's like seeing clouds and knowing rain is imminent. This foresight is crucial for driving innovation and seizing new opportunities.

Visionaries are instrumental in shaping the future of humanity. By identifying emerging trends and developing innovative solutions, they contribute significantly to economic growth and societal progress.

To delve deeper into this topic, I explored the meaning of "insight" in Arabic.

I discovered three key elements:

1. Intellectual Perception: The ability to comprehend the nuances of one's industry and anticipate its evolution.
2. Observational Power: The capacity to foresee upcoming changes in one's area or industry, including technological advancements.
3. Belief: This is paramount, especially for entrepreneurs and investors. It entails courage, optimism, and the willingness to pioneer uncharted territory.

Salesforce is a prime example of this visionary spirit. Their launch of a SaaS product revolutionized the enterprise software market as well as AWS launching cloud computing storage way before anyone else.

The phenomenon of Osama Al-Muslim:

In the literary realm, I recently discovered Saudi author Osama Al-Muslim. Al-Muslim, a prominent contemporary writer in Saudi Arabia, is a literary visionary ???.

He created a new modern fantasy genre -which are very good btw- inspired by Arab heritage, a genre that hadn't been explored since the 8th century. Al-Muslim has garnered immense popularity and acclaim. His work, often compared to Harry Potter in my region, & has captivated a wide audience and established a new literary universe.

Visionaries aren't as rare as you might think. In my current role as an executive coach and angel investor, I encounter visionaries most days. Granted, many of them don't even realize their potential, but there's no doubt they're among us. And there might even be one within you.

In a future foresight workshop I used to conduct during my work in innovation, I was able to facilitate future visioning for a large group of people. It's not magic ??, it's observation ???

Who do you consider a visionary in your industry ?