I have a “Worthiness Test” for an organizational vision: does it promise a valuable contribution to the human community? If it does, there is more than a good chance that it will turn people on and induce them to help make it real. If it does not, there is little chance of that happening.

The majority of visions fail the Worthiness Test. Most are less about making a valuable contribution to human society, and more about the business the organization is in and its aspirations to dominate that business. For example (edited only slightly), one organization says its vision is, “To be the best…in the eyes of our customers, employees and the public.” This vision fails the Worthiness Test because it is centered on the organization’s desire to impress people with how great it is. This self-aggrandizement is the most prevalent sentiment within visions. It is reflected in phrases such as these:

There is nothing wrong with being the best or having a good reputation, but such visions reflect organizational appetites for achievement masquerading as visions. I want to ask, “How about making a commitment to something more worthwhile than your own reputation, recognition or pre-eminence?” I feel certain that most of the people in those organizations, once the initial hype about their vision abates, feel much the same way.

Many visions that do pass the Worthiness Test are created by social service and educational institutions rather than by business organizations. It is more obvious to social service and educational institutions that they exist primarily to make a contribution to humanity. One of my favorites comes from 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 people at Bloorview MacMillan care about something other than themselves. And it implies that the rest of us ought to do the same. The statement is both a vision and a call to action.

Another vision that passes the Worthiness Test is proffered by the Fielding Graduate University:

We envision a collaborative family of scholar-practitioners, empowered by a global perspective, enabling and promoting harmony and social justice.

Some business organizations do pay attention to their contribution to the human community and have the courage to say so in their visions. Whirlpool, for example, passes the Worthiness Test with this:

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 vision is about Whirlpool itself: its aspiration to be everywhere. But Whirlpool states clearly that making life easier and more enjoyable is their underlying reason for doing what they do. Unlike the first vision above, in which the company says it wants to be the best so everyone will recognize it as the best, Whirlpool wants to be the best for a larger reason.

One corporation passes the Worthiness Test consistently—the Japanese giant NEC Corporation. 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.” In 2001 NEC envisioned an “iSociety”:

…a society in which people are able to freely exchange information and knowledge to enjoy a creative life fully demonstrating both their ability and individuality.

More recently NEC has committed itself to a Vision of a Sustainable Society.

A few years ago I spoke with Heather Roseveare, then Director of Family and Community Relations at Bloorview MacMillan. She offered a useful summary of the difference between those visions that pass the Worthiness Test and those that do not. She said “Our vision captures the heart of what we do—defy disability—but also how we do it, and why we do it.” Visions pass the Worthiness Test when their authors address why they do whatever they do beyond their own self-interest.

Does your organization’s vision pass the Worthiness Test?

— Dick Richards