Visions that do describe a contribution to a group of people are motivated more by concern for that group rather than by personal achievement, and are most often created by leaders in social service and educational institutions. For example, Jim Wold’s vision is about student performance, a hot topic and educational buzzword today, but not so well understood when he first became a school superintendent. ‘‘I didn’t understand how important creating and articulating a vision was until I was a school superintendent,’’ Jim said. He went to workshops, spoke with other superintendents, listened to tapes, read books, then asked himself, ‘‘What is the most important thing in education?’’ His answer was, ‘‘Improving teaching and learning so all students achieve high standards of performance.’’ That phrase became his vision.
Today Wold says, ‘‘It really resonated with people. It was just amazingto me the focus that it helped people have; it creates a culture against which you can test everything you are doing. If it isn’t about teaching and learning, and it isn’t going to benefit students, than why are we doing it? I wasn’t sure up to that point. I didn’t know how important it was. That was a breakthrough for me. You really have to put a phrase around it to focus it.’’
Another example is the vision of Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Centre of Ontario, Canada. Bloorview MacMillan enables children with disabilities and special needs to achieve their best. The vision is a heart stopper, ‘‘Defy Disability.’’ That’s all of it: two words. It suggests a world in which disability is met head on and challenged with resolve and dignity. More importantly, it suggests that the leaders at Bloorview MacMillan care about something other than themselves. And it implies that the rest of us ought to do the same. The leadership of Bloorview MacMillan has crafted a declaration that is both a vision and a call to action.
Another noble vision comes from the leadership of Fielding Graduate Institute, which offers doctoral and master’s degree programs in psychology and education. Fielding is world-renowned for innovation in higher education. It envisions, ‘‘a collaborative family of scholar-practitioners, empowered by a global perspective, enabling and promoting harmony and social justice.’’
Noble visions such as those of Wold, Bloorview MacMillan, and Fielding Graduate Institute address the reasons that leaders do what they do (and why followers ought to do the same) beyond their own self- interest. Heather Roseveare, director of family and community relations at Bloorview MacMillan, said, ‘‘Our vision captures the heart of what we do—defy disability—but also how we do it, and why we do it.’’
Some business leaders do pay attention to their contribution to the human community and say so when they talk about their vision. Whirlpool’s leaders, for example, promote this vision: ‘‘Every Home . . . Everywhere. With Pride, Passion and Performance. We create the world’s best home appliances, which make life easier and more enjoyable for all people.’’
Yes, much of the statement is self-referent, about Whirlpool itself: about its aspiration to be everywhere, and about its values—pride, passion, and performance. But Whirlpool’s leaders have also stated that making life easier and more enjoyable is their underlying reason for doing what they do. Unlike any ‘‘we want to be the best’’ vision, Whirlpool’s leaders say that they want to be the best for a larger reason.
‘‘We want to be the best’’ statements lay at the far left of the selfreferentto-noble continuum, while Whirlpool’s lies in the middle, and Jim Wold’s, Bloorview MacMillan’s and Fielding’s rest at the far right.
Two other examples of noble vision—both business examples— come from the Japanese giant NEC Corporation, where leaders have twice created visions that promise a contribution to the human community. In 1986, then Chairman Koji Kobayashi envisioned that NEC was creating ‘‘a situation that would make it possible for any person in the world to communicate with any other person at any place and any time.’’ Then in 2001 NEC’s leadership envisioned an ‘‘iSociety’’ in which the networks around people ‘‘promote an exchange of information and knowledge for the achievement of a new creativity in society.’’
While noble visions such as the ones espoused by the leadership of NEC are not the corporate norm, NEC’s leaders are not alone in creating such visions. The leadership of Fujita, a ninety-year-old company, which primarily does construction, planning, and design, says, ‘‘Today Fujita is rewriting history, so we can all work together to create a world that combines a rich natural environment and vibrant societies with caring communities.’’ Fujita also states, ‘‘Our foremost aim is to enhance human happiness through achieving harmony between ecology, society, and the urban environment.’’