When ophthalmologists diagnose a person’s vision, they use the terms “near-sighted” and “far-sighted”. The term near-sighted refers to a person who sees objects clearly close to them while objects in the distance are out of focus. Contrarywise, a person who is considered to be far-sighted sees clearly objects further in the distance while objects close to them are obstructed.

Both types of vision are considered poor and in need of correction. A person who has “perfect vision” that is, people whose vision does not require correction, can see both close and far objects with clarity. Today’s masters are the future leaders of the organization, just as white belts are the future black belts of a school. A leader who is “near-sighted” would only focus on the events and people that are close to them; whether in physical proximity or concerning events around them. For example, a leader focused on persons and events close to them might focus solely on the ‘every day’ tasks needed to run a school and neglect to make plans the future.

Likewise, a leader who is “far-sighted” would focus solely on persons and events far away from them. Again, whether in physical proximity or concerning events in the future.  For example, a leader focused solely on the future, might be planning future events, new locations, etc. but forget or neglect the everyday tasks that make a school or the organization great.

Ideally a master would have perfect vision- able to see clearly both near and far. In other words, able to respect the past, focus on the present, and have a plan for the future. This is the kind of master I would strive to be, and the type of master that ATA needs- one with perfect vision.