Hand electricity

Humans are inherently strategic at the individual level, and regularly work towards a personal vision of the future. A vision, in this sense, is a picture of the future that you want to bring about. At the personal level this might be the sort of place you want to live, gaining your ideal job, or imagining your ideal garden.

At the organisational level, a vision is a powerful way of explaining the future that the organisation is working towards. For example, on 25th May 1961 President John F. Kennedy announced that before the end of the decade the USA would send a man safely to the moon. In 1969, that goal was achieved. As another example, the original Microsoft vision developed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen was “a computer on every desk and in every home”.

In the sustainability context, sustainability pioneer Interface has its framed its vision alongside its Mission Zero commitment, “To be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: People, process, product, place and profits — by 2020 — and in doing so we will become restorative through the power of influence.” This vision inspired the people at Interface since 1995 and helped shaped the company’s achievements that make it one of the most respected and recognised sustainability leaders in the world. Recently the vision has been refreshed and stretched further into the future to go beyond ‘zero’ towards having a net positive and restorative impact. The new vision is called Climate Take Back and envisions a world where business is a force for good that delivers solutions to the big social and environmental challenges of our time.

Introduction to WEnotes activity

This activity is designed to provide an opportunity to practice posting a comment to the Course Feed using our WEnotes technology.

You will need to register on this course site by clicking on the user icon ( ) in the site menu and completing the form. You need to be logged in to post using WEnotes before attempting this activity.

1. Watch this TEDx video “Start with why”, where Simon Sinek provides a powerful overview of how great leaders inspire action.
2. Post your thoughts, in WEnotes, about how his simple framework can be used to help create powerful visions to frame a strategic planning process.
3. Share your ideas on this topic by visiting the Course Feed and read what others think. Put What is a vision at the beginning of your post to aid reading
   Here are a few example posts to show what you might post:
   • What is a vision: Simon Sinek’s most important point was…
   • What is a vision: Great leaders inspire action by…
   • Share your own ideas …

Interface’s Mission Zero commitment

In the sustainability context, sustainability pioneer Interface has framed its vision alongside its Mission Zero commitment,

This vision has inspired the people at Interface since 1995 and helped shaped the company’s achievements that make it one of the most respected and recognised sustainability leaders in the world.

An organisational vision provides the frame for a strategic planning process, and should reflect what real success looks like within the systems that the organisation operates. The vision then begs the question, what goals do we need to achieve in order to bring this vision into reality? In turn these strategic goals inform action planning, and what ultimately gets done.

Learning journal activity

This activity is required for students seeking formal credit. Other students may complete a learning journal but it will not be assessed.

1. Review the “5 Level Framework” from Learning pathway 2 of Micro Course 1.
2. Reflect upon any examples from your own experience where a powerful vision has galvanized a team to achieve something extraordinary or ambitious.
3. Identify other components of that example that fit at different levels of the 5 Levels?

Remember that Learning journal entries must be at least 100 words.