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Consider This!

Vision’s Offspring
Getty Images A compelling vision inspires and nurtures three qualities,

here personified as individuals. Do you think followers
would benefit from contact with the following “people”
in an organization?

CLARITY
My visits to Clarity are soothing now. He never tells me what to think or feel or do but
shows me how to find out what I need to know. . . . he presented me with a sketch-
book and told me to draw the same thing every day until the drawing started to speak
to me.

COMMITMENT
Commitment has kind eyes. He wears sturdy shoes. . . . You can taste in [his] vege-
tables that the soil has been cared for. . . . He is a simple man, and yet he is mysteri-
ous. He is more generous than most people. His heart is open. He is not afraid of life.

IMAGINATION
Some people accuse Imagination of being a liar. They don’t understand that she has
her own ways of uncovering the truth. . . . Imagination has been working as a fortune-
teller in the circus. She has a way of telling your fortune so clearly that you believe
her, and then your wishes start to come true. . . . Her vision is more complex, and
very simple. Even with the old stories, she wants us to see what has never been
seen before.
Source: J. Ruth Gendler, The Book of Qualities (New York: Harper & Row, 1988). Used with permission.

hearts, and letting them be part of something bigger than themselves. Consider
how Walt Disney painted a picture of Disneyland that unifi ed and energized
employees.

IN THE LEAD Walt Disney
Walt Disney created a clear picture of what he wanted Disneyland to be. His vision
translated hopes and dreams into words and allowed employees to help create the
future. Notice how the vision says nothing about making money—the emphasis is
on a greater purpose that all employees could believe in.
“The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to
fi nd happiness and knowledge. It will be a place for parents and children
to spend pleasant times in one another’s company, a place for teachers and
pupils to discover greater ways of understanding and education. Here the
older generation can recapture the nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger
generation can savor the challenge of the future. Here will be the wonders of
Nature and Man for all to see and understand. Disneyland will be based on
and dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and hard facts that have created
America. And it will be uniquely equipped to dramatize these dreams and
facts and send them forth as a source of courage and inspiration for all the
world. Disneyland will be something of a fair, an exhibition, a playground,

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