‘If you can dream it, you can do it’ – Walt Disney

By Don Wehby

In most organisations today, the vision statement is used to communicate to the staff and the public, the vision that the management of the organization has for its success. An effective vision statement is one that inspires, energizes and helps to create a mental picture of the specific goals of the organization. The importance of such a clearly defined vision to the success of a company cannot be emphasized. The process involves turning a dream into a clear vision and that vision into a reality for that organization. It was James Allen who said, “Dreams are the seedlings of realities”. Without a clear definition of purpose, a vision therefore, is more of a dream than anything else.

There are many real life examples of persons who have created visions for themselves and have turned those visions into reality. Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple and founder of Pixar Studios (now owned by Disney), is one such example. Armed with $1300 and a garage for a workplace, Jobs and partner, Steve Wozniak successfully built and sold the first line of personal computers. Years later, Steve Jobs is one of the most successful men in America. Despite facing many challenges, Jobs was a true visionary, who changed people’s views on the operations of a computer. He reduced the size of computers to small boxes.

The popular coffeehouse chain Starbucks, started as a store selling coffee beans because the then owners felt that coffee was something to be prepared in the home. It was Howard Schultz, a member of staff at the company, who felt that there was a business opportunity in selling already prepared coffee to on-the-go Americans. Originally, this idea wasn’t supported by the owners of the company, but with this vision in hand Schultz decided to start his own coffee chain. When this was successful, he eventually bought the Starbucks chain from the owners and has since turned Starbucks into the largest coffeehouse chain in the world. Undeterred, Schultz created success for himself and many others by solidly working towards his vision.

Another major example of the level of change than can be affected when there is a clear vision for success comes in the form of Jack Welsh, former CEO of General Electric (GE). Welsh stated that ‘Business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion’. Bearing this in mind, he transformed GE from being a ‘supertanker – strong and steady in the water’ to a ‘speedboat, fast and agile, able to turn on a dime’ because he believed the company had much more potential. He insisted that each business unit be either 1st or 2nd in its market. His vision for GE had been achieved as he managed to significantly increase revenue from approximately $26.8 billion in 1980 to $130 billion in 2000. Additionally, GE has diversified its business significantly, naming its vision ‘We bring good things to life’. Thus, where, originally GE was primarily a manufacturing business, it now has veins extending to, among others, the media and electronics industries; just part of Jack Welsh’s vision for the company.

It is important for the management of an organization to both have a vision for the company and communicate this vision to employees. Without the help of employees, vision cannot become a reality. Effectively communicating a vision and indicating the ways in which each employee can contribute to that vision will create a collective belief in what the organization can become. All three businessmen, Jobs, Schultz and Welsh were committed to their vision. Displaying this commitment can create enthusiasm and can in turn increase the commitment that the employees have to creating the reality.

The vision needs to be realistic enough that people feel that it can be achieved, but it must not necessarily be easily attainable as more people understand and appreciate success when there is hard work involved. It was Sam Walton who said, “Capital isn’t scarce. Vision is”. Let us as business leaders ensure that we create a vision in our organizations that is realistic, credible and boasts an attractive future. Let us also ask of our politicians that they create and actively work towards a vision for a better Jamaica.

The author is the CEO of GK Investments and deputy CEO of the GraceKennedy Limited

Feedback: jobsmart@gleanerjm.com