The Dreamer’s Disease - Laurie Miller

As you all know from last weeks blog, Harley is on a break in the Northern part of the world and has invited some very interesting people to write a blog while he's exploring amazing countries. This week we introduce to you Laurie Miller, an American business executive with specialist expertise in finance and controlling.

Laurie's Blog

I was participating in a meeting the other day and just happened to turn away from the speaker for a moment and noticed a colleague seemingly staring into space.  This was not the first time and nor will it be the last.  I found myself, once again, with a dilemma - shall I try to get his attention to snap him out of this apparent coma-induced state or just let him be?

I know what my two sons would do if faced with this same situation.  They would have found nothing more amusing than blowing a large spit ball through a straw at the “sleeping” target.   Double bonus points awarded if the target is hit between the eyes.  We, in the seemingly more mature world of business, would normally try our best to grab his attention with a raspy deep double-cough, the second being a bit more pronounced, or via a slight elbow nudge if fortunate enough to be sitting directly next to him.  In this case triple bonus points awarded if done conspicuously (something rarely achieved).  After several attempts, mission accomplished and my colleague would once again be focusing on the speaker.

For this instance, however, I found myself wondering what was going through his mind.  Was he preparing ahead for his next meeting, deciding what to have for dinner, planning his fall holiday or just maybe creating the future?  A true visionary.

I have had the honor of having a few visionaries influence my, what I like to think of, young life.  One being my father.  These individuals do not just dream and have visions or thoughts of events that they would like to see occur in the future.  They bring their visions to life!  Those thoughts that reside in their mind are made reality based on the actions that they take and the decisions they make.  Not to sound too technical or scientific, but these actions are calculated and the visionary does not take them just for the sake of it.  Every step is taken in order to bring their vision closer to reality.  Obstacles are viewed as challenges that they simply take on – a learning experience.

They are fascinating to talk with – their minds never stop.  I see this as a key element of a visionary for it is simple questions such as “what if” that they ask themselves that trigger and inspire the creativity and innovativeness.  This leads to “taking something that already exists and doing something different with it”.

So for this moment I decided to let my colleague continue in his comatose state.  I never did ask what he was thinking.  More than likely, I will know eventually…

…. every once and awhile, let them dream!

Laurie's Biography

Laurie is a dedicated mother and “taxi driver” for her two sons, Tyler and Alec, currently residing in Dusseldorf, Germany.

In her spare time, she's a corporate executive currently heading global support services within the IT / Organization & Information department.  Her experience spans finance, controlling, IT and business planning and administration areas.  Interests include strategy, mergers / acquisitions, collaboration, communication and organization activities with a clear focus on delivering results.

Personal interests include driving, running, ice hockey, soccer and horseback riding.