Vision

1
Vision

• Capacity to orient towards what we truly care
  about
• To be clear and compelling in sharing our visions
• Vision includes
• What you want to have happen
• What you want to do
• What you aspire to
• How you want to be

2
Two Uses of Vision

• Personal sense
• Source of inspiration and motivation
• Source of action and commitment, tapping into our
  deepest aspirations
• Guide for prioritizing, making decisions, and
  keeping focused

3
Reflection on a personal vision

• From Donella Meadows, March 19, 1989
• Start with the vision, be open to any path by
  which the vision will be realized, be patient and
  persistent, be true to the vision, and things
  will work out. Amazing. Ive lived my life by
  that formula for a long time, but Im still
  surprised when it works!

4
Second Use of Vision

• Broader leadership sense
• Motivate others to work together towards a common
  vision
• Sharing vision with others is a means to engage
  and inspire others to work towards it
• Calling on our aspiration and our ability to
  share what we want with others can be powerful
  for all of us

5
Creative Tension

• Rubber band metaphor
• - The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge
• How we self-sabotage our use of vision
• Lower vision
• Avoidance (deny your own aspirations)
• Keep your vision ambiguous or general
• Focus on what you want relief from vs. what you
  want to create (obsess with current reality)

6
Vision is Calming

• It calms me to stay in touch with my vision. It
  would be simpler to bring forth a world in which
  the interconnected, mutually reinforcing goals of
  environmental sustainability, economic
  sufficiency, peace and justice are reached than
  it would be to continue on our current stressful,
  expensive, self-undermining path. Whenever I lose
  my way, I get myself back to my picture of the
  world I am working toward.
• Donella Meadows, Global Citizen, 1991

7
Two Precepts

• 1. You can build your capacity for visioning
• Envisioning is a skill that can be developed,
  like any other human skill.
• from Envisioning a Sustainable World by
  Donella Meadows
• 2. Commit to your vision be open on how to get
  there

8
Goethe on Committing to Ones Vision

• Until one is committed, there is always
  hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always
  ineffectiveness. The moment one definitely
  commits oneself, then Providence moves. A whole
  stream of events issues from the decision,
  raising to one's favor all manner of unforeseen
  accidents and meetings and material assistance
  which no one could have dreamed would come their
  way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin
  it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
  
• Goethe

9
Discussion

• What happened for you in the visioning?
• What inspirations or passions did you tap into?
• How can you bring your full leadership ability to
  your vision?
• How does this tie into your sustainability work?