I had the pleasure of attending the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles last month. It’s quite a spectacle, a day-long affair with all kinds of distractions and surprises. It’s an interesting way to spend a day, especially if you’re into music (which I am).

There were many memorable moments. There were the wanna-be’s in the audience, dressed to attract attention. There were the performances of artists vying for awards. And there was the off-stage, off-camera antics of some of the musicians and other industry people in attendance, at the parties before and after. It was genuinely entertaining.

One of the most memorable experiences of the day for me was a comment made by Walter Miller, who produced the telecast of the event for network TV. After explaining what he was hoping to pull off with the day’s broadcast, he said, “On paper, this doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.” And then he proceeded to pull it off – on time, within budget, and despite the antics of a relatively unruly group of performers and presenters.

How did he do it? Through incredible planning, precise execution, the united effort of a large team of talented specialists (several hundred strong), a huge budget, years of experience, and the ability and willingness to flex on a moment’s notice.

None of that would have been possible, though, if Mr. Miller did not have a clear and compelling vision of the outcome and the confidence of those working for him. After watching the process up close, trust me, the Grammy telecast is a disaster waiting to happen. But that’s where leadership comes in. Despite continually reminding his colleagues of the vision which they were pursuing together, and keeping them apprised throughout the day of the progress they were making, the live broadcast could easily have fallen apart at any of 100 junctures during the 210-minute show. The fact that it didn’t was less a testimony to the eye-popping or ear-pleasing performances of some of the artists than to the relentless behind-the-scenes leadership of a team whose names you’ve never heard – and never will.

Taylor Swift and Beyonce are widely considered to have been the stars of the show. In my mind, Walter Miller was the brightest star of the evening. None of us would have enjoyed them – or any of the other two dozen musicians – without the stellar efforts of him and his team.

As you consider your ministry and the difficult outcomes you seek to facilitate, take a look at the critical points on that journey. How clear is the vision? Are you so certain that it is a vision from God that you are going for it, full speed ahead, even though “it just doesn’t work on paper”? How invested in that vision are your colleagues? Is your team sufficiently prepared and resourced to produce the desired results? Is your plan capable of generating the desired outcome? Who is tracking the quality and timing of the execution? Is your budget realistic? Are there team members who have been through it before and can offer insight from experience? When things go wrong – and they will – are you and your team prepared to quickly and smoothly shift gears and stay focused on the ultimate result?

Vision without strategic action is worthless verbiage. Vision that empowers people to execute a well-conceived plan is priceless leadership.