Make Your Vision Great Again: Why Clarity Wins

As leaders, we often assume our message is clear. We see the vision vividly, like a movie playing in our heads. We understand every detail, every nuance, every step needed to bring it to life. But here’s the hard truth: just because we see it clearly doesn’t mean anyone else does.

I recently had an exercise where I rattled off a list of ideas and vision statements to a group. At the end, I asked, “Can anyone tell me what I just said?” The responses I got were a mixed bag of half-right answers and confusion. And it wasn’t their fault—it was mine. I realized that while I thought my message was crystal clear, it wasn’t landing the way I intended.

The Leadership Vision Problem
This is a classic leadership challenge. We, as visionaries, see things the way the eye sees within the body. The eye can see far ahead, but the hand and the feet can’t see what the eye sees. Our job as leaders is not just to see but to make our vision clear enough for everyone else to follow.

Imagine this scenario: You’re having a heart attack while driving a car, and you need to teach a 10-year-old how to get you to the hospital. What do you tell them?

You wouldn’t say, “Put your seatbelt on, keep your hands at ten and two, check your mirrors, adjust the AC, and follow all the traffic laws.” No, you’d simplify it to, “Push the right pedal to go, the left pedal to stop. Stay between the lines.”

When clarity is critical, simplicity wins.

I love this example: Your daughter is 18, and she’s about to drive a car full of her friends on a road trip to Florida. What do you say to her?

If you start with a long list of dos and don’ts—*“Hands at ten and two, no loud music, wear your seatbelt, keep your phone on silent, don’t drive too fast”—*she’s not going to remember it all.

Instead, you need one phrase that is clear, memorable, and actionable. Something like, “Make wise decisions.” That single phrase will stick with her when the music gets a little too loud, or when she’s tempted to speed up to keep pace with traffic. It’s a vision that can guide her decisions.

Case Study: U.S. Presidential Elections
When you think about leadership and clear vision, look no further than U.S. presidential elections. Success often comes down to which candidate has the clearest and most memorable message.

Take Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again.” Whether you loved or hated it, you remembered it. It was crystal clear, concise, and it allowed every person to fill in their own interpretation of what greatness meant. His vision was so powerful that his entire team—and arguably the country—could align their actions with it.

Compare that to Kamala Harris’s recent campaign. What was her slogan? If you can’t recall, you’re not alone. She had a rotating door of slogans, including:

None of these messages stuck. Why? Because they weren’t clear or consistent. A scattered message is a forgotten message. It was like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something would stick.

Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign suffered from a similar problem. She reportedly had 87 different slogans. That’s 87 different messages, 87 different visions, none of which took hold. Meanwhile, Trump hammered “Make America Great Again” into the collective consciousness. One message, one vision, one path forward. 87 versus 1. There’s no competition.

Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign is a masterclass in clarity. His message began as “Change We Can Believe In” and eventually boiled down to a single word: “Change.” People knew exactly what he stood for. The simplicity of that message allowed him to define himself and his vision in a way that was not only memorable but also actionable.

John McCain, Obama’s opponent, struggled with messaging. His main slogan, “Country First,” was clear but not relatable. His other messaging—“Reform, Prosperity, and Peace”—was clunky and forgettable. It didn’t inspire action. It didn’t create a movement.

The Five Components of a Great Vision
From these examples, we can learn that every great vision has five critical components:

Every successful campaign has a clear message. You can actually do a case study on every election since the 1900s and the vision is clear for the winner.

Obama had “Change.” Trump had “Make America Great Again.” These messages were not just words—they were guiding principles for action.

The Beratung Advisors Journey
We learned this lesson firsthand. For years, our tagline was “Guidance With a Plan.” It sounded professional, but when I said it out loud, I’d get blank stares. It wasn’t memorable. It wasn’t clear.

So, we shifted to “Generational Planning for Yinz.”

And suddenly, everything clicked.

We do financial planning. 

We serve multiple generations. 

We are for Pittsburgh.

Our message became clear, concise, and memorable—a phrase our team and clients could rally around.

Visuals Make Vision Stick
It doesn’t stop at being clear. You need it to stick. A strong message needs a strong visual.

At Beratung, we have used many visuals to make our vision stick. As an example, we created the Ugly Couch to represent blind spots.

But it wasn’t just an idea—we went all in. We scoured Facebook Marketplace for the ugliest, most worn-out couch we could find. Scott and I drove to some place outside of Mt. Washington, and when we saw it, we knew we had found the perfect one. The seller was confused, asking why on earth we wanted this ripped and ragged couch. We told her, “It’s perfect!” And it was. We brought it back to the office, and now every client who walks through our doors asks about it.

There’s even a QR code above it that tells the story. The Ugly Couch isn’t just a prop—it’s a teaching tool. It’s a visual reminder that helps us tell our story and keep our message clear. It might not be a red hat, but it’s pretty darn close.

How to Make Your Vision Great Again
So what are the keys to making your vision great again?

Don’t stop there. Once you create it you must Adapt It Over Time! Refine and evolve as needed.

Lastly create visuals to ensure it sticks!

If your vision isn’t clear, it’s just noise. And in a world full of noise, only the clearest messages break through.

If God has placed a vision on your heart, you have to do everything you can to make that vision come to life. The way you’re going to do it is by making your vision great again.