Psychology 1508: Vision

Yesterdays idea of the boss, who became the boss because he or she knew one more fact than the person working for them, is yesterdays manager. Tomorrows person leads through a vision, a shared set of values, a shared objective.
Jack Welch

The first basic ingredient of leadership is a guiding vision. The leader has a clear idea of what he or she wants to doprofessionally and personallyand the strength to persist in the face of setbacks, even failures. Warren Bennis

Outline
What is a vision? Why create a vision? How do we communicate the vision?

What is a Vision?
A vision is a portrait of the future that grabs.
Warren Bennis

1. 2. 3. 4.

Mission Statement Long-term goals Core values Vivid description

1. Mission Statement
A statement expressing the persons or organizations underlying reason for being.

To make technical contribution for the advancement and welfare of humanity.

To experience the emotion of competition, winning, and crushing competitors.

To make people happy.

To strengthen the social fabric by continually democratizing home ownership.

To help leading corporations and governments be more successful.

To preserve and improve human life.

To give unlimited opportunities to women.

To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same things as rich people.

2. Long Term Goals

Ambitious, concrete, and meaningful goals for 1-30 years down the line.

To democratize the automobile. (early 1900s)

Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age. (1950)

Crush Adidas! (1960)

Become a $125 billion company by the year 2000. (1990)

Become the Harvard of the West. (1940s)

3. Core Values
An organizations or persons most fundamental and inviolable codes of action.

 No Cynicism Nurturing and promulgation of wholesome American values Creativity, dreams, and imagination Fanatical attention to consistency and detail Preservation and control of Disney magic

 Elevation of the Japanese culture and national status Being pioneer not following others; doing the impossible Encouraging individual ability and creativity

4. Vivid Description
Bringing the vision to life using words that create images.

Think of it as translating the vision from words into pictures, or creating an image that people can carry around in their heads. Collins & Porras

I will build a motor car for the great multitude.... It will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own oneand enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in Gods great open spaces.... When Im through everybody will be able to afford one, and everyone will have one. The horse will have disappeared from our highways, the automobile will be taken for granted... [and we will] give a large number of men employment at good wages.

Why Create a Vision?

Success Happiness Resilience

The Sample
Premier institutions in their industries. Widely admired. Made a significant contribution to the world.

Founded before 1950

Visionary
Procter & Gamble

Comparison
Colgate

Sony
Hewlett Packard

Kenwood
Texas Instruments

Boeing
Johnson & Johnson Ford General Electric Walt Disney

McDonnell Douglas
Briston-Myers Squibb General Motors Westinghouse Columbia

The fundamental distinguishing characteristic of the most enduring and successful corporations is that they preserve a cherished core ideology while simultaneously stimulating progress and change in everything that is not part of their core ideology.
Myth : The most successful companies exist first and foremost to maximize profits. Reality : Making money is important, but primarily guided by their core values and a sense of purpose.

Success of Visionary Companies

Long term performance (1926-1990): General Market: Comparison Companies: Visionary Companies: $ 415 $ 955 $ 6,356

Kotter & Heskett (1992)

4x revenue growth

7x jobs created
8.5x profit

12x stock price increase

Are All Visions Created Equal?

Some more than others (OReilly 1989) High performance standards Caring attitude Sense of uniqueness and pride

Positive Vision

Ronald Reagan defeated Carter by offering Americans a vision that was as optimistic as Carters was pessimistic. (PBS)

The Unifying Power of Vision

Few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful as shared visions. Peter Senge
The Manhattan Project

It was a remarkable community inspired by a high sense of mission... devoted to a common purpose. J. Robert Oppenheimer

What is your vision?

Kouzes & Posner (2003)
loyalty and commitment job satisfaction motivation and increased productivity A leaders dynamism doesnt come from special powers. It comes from a strong belief in a purpose and a willingness to express that conviction.

Communicating the Vision

Simplicity and repetition Images, metaphors, stories Action follows words

Simplicity and repetition

Avoiding the simplistic
I do not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. Oliver Wendell Holmes Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Leonardo Da Vinci

Jim Burke

Constant and consistent communication, while at times sounding like a broken record, is the single most reassuring thing I can do for all stakeholders: employees, investors, customers, media, and senior management... And its always the same basic message, which is our vision for the company. Robert Eckert (Mattel CEO)

Basically, John [Reed] focused the bank on a few things and communicated a simple plan to the board, the regulators, and the Street. That struck me as a great example of effective leadership because it galvanized the organization into pulling through. John simplifed the extremely complex Citibank organization, made cost cutting a priority, and tied every one of the banks activities to a set of deliverables. Citibank Chairman Victor Menezes

Images, Metaphors, Stories

The Bible American presidents (Emrich et al, 2001)
Winning business leaders use the power of storytelling as effectively as our most gifted public leaders. Noel Tichy

Making the vision visible

No matter how marvelous the vision, the effective leader must use a metaphor, a word or a model to make that vision clear to others. Warren Bennis

Mandelas Rainbow Nation

The Power of Stories

Stories humanize Martin & Powers (1983)

Action Must Follow Words

Unless a vision is sustained by action, it quickly turns to ashes. Noel Tichy In dreams begins responsibility. William Butler Yeats

Leaders articulate and embody the ideals toward which the organization strives. Warren Bennis

Action Speaks Louder than Words

What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say. Ralph Waldo Emerson Be the change you want to see in the world. Mahatma Gandhi

Myth : Companies become visionaries through vision statements. Reality : Writing the vision is only a small step; visionary companies walk the talk, their focus is on expressing the vision.

The ABC of enVISIONing

Affect (emotion) Behavior (action) Cognition (thought)