Value of vision can't be seen by leaders with blinders on...

From the halls of gov't, to the conference rooms of churches, to the board rooms and offices of corporate america.. change, hope, vision, is a virtually insurmountable brick wall.. 

Transformational change models, proven experience in operational excellence and strategic vision are only valued where the existing leadership can see the need to do something differently. In most cases, the "existing leadership" would rather just blame someone else and wait for a failure to force a "reboot" of the entire system.

 Most companies' leaders wait for a failure condition or spend unbelievable amounts of money on "external" consultants rather than listen to the emerging leaders within their own organizations whose ideas are to politically unpalatable.  This is a tough situation which is virtually insurmountable for most.  I can see a situation where a close mentorship with the right senior executive(s) or series of relationship(if broad enough) might allow for internal consultants to rise through the ranks but chance would seem to favor those from the outside with less political baggage. From DC to the boardroom to your average group/team meeting, the dynamics remain largely the same. 

Sad when you think about it. The only real viable action plan is to leave and move from organization to organization, embracing the roles of the new guy/expert from the outside.