Why is it not enough to say, “A good vision is clear”?
In my last article, I talked about the third requirement of a good vision, which is that it implies a transformative change in consciousness. In this article, I would like to summarize the requirements for good visions that I have discussed so far, and then consider the differences between them and the “commonly accepted requirements for good visions.”
Let’s review the three requirements of a good vision that we have discussed in previous articles.
The (Cause-oriented) Requirements for a Good Vision
・Connectedness with the subjective truth: Connectedness with the subjective truth of oneself and team members, drawing out their inner energy.・Not ambition, but KOKOROZASHI: Not just for oneself (ambition), but for others including oneself (KOKOROZASHI). And inner energy and KOKOROZASHI are compatible.
・Implications of a transformative change in consciousness: This implies not only a change in phenomena, but also a transformative change in consciousness.
From the perspective of ISHIKI(Consciousness) Management, there are only three requirements for envisioning a good vision. At this point, some of you may have the impression that this is different from the commonly accepted requirements for a good vision.
For example, one of the commonly accepted requirements for a good vision is that it should be clear. I think this is also a correct view. So what is the difference between the general requirement of vision and the above requirement?
The conclusion is that the above requirements are “cause-oriented requirements”, and the requirements that are commonly referred to are (often) “result-oriented requirements”.
This is not a discussion of good and bad. Both are requirements for good visions. However, if we use only the result-oriented requirements, we cannot answer the question, “Then how can we create a good vision?”
In the previous articles, I have focused on cause-oriented requirements, that is, requirements that we can be aware of and practice if we want to, to answer the question, “Then how can we have a good vision?”
Here, let’s summarize the “result-oriented requirements” of a good vision, and then discuss the connection with the “cause-oriented requirements”.
The (result-oriented) requirements of a good vision
As I mentioned in my previous article, let’s take another look at the examples of good visions or good missions.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
(Martin Luther King, Jr.)“Our mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
(Google)“By providing comprehensive financial services, empowering the poor to realize their potential and break out of the vicious cycle of poverty.”
（Grameen Bank)
The following are some of the ( result-oriented) requirements of a good vision that are commonly mentioned, which apply beautifully to these cases above.
The (Result-oriented) Requirements for a Good Vision
・Clarity: A three-dimensional, dynamic image of the future can be imagined.
・Common good: An image that, when realized, will lead to the happiness of many people.
・Empathy: To be able to relate to the vision and think of it as one’s own.
“Clarity” is one of the most common requirements for a good vision. A good vision is not only linguistically clear, but it also evokes a vivid three-dimensional image. This allows the people involved to have a common image of the future, which leads to the collective power of the people.
The “common good” encompasses a “greater purpose” that many people would consider “good”. By creating an image that, when realized, will lead to the happiness of many people, we can gain the sympathy and cooperation of many people.
“Empathy” means that when each person empathizes with the vision, he or she is able to see the vision as his or her own, and draws out the energy within him or her.
And these three elements are complementary to each other, and when all of them come together, they form a vision that will have a significant impact that will drive change.
▼”Clarity” to unite the power of many people in one direction
…Without this, even if many people get together, they may not be able to unite their power because they may have different images of what they want to accomplish.▼ “Common good” that will lead to the involvement of more people.
…Without this, we may be able to involve some people, but we may not be able to involve many people.▼”Empathy” that draws out the inner energy of each individual
…Without this, even if we generally agree, we may not be able to draw out the powerful energy that will drive the change forward.
Why is result-oriented requirements not enough?
However, as I mentioned earlier, although these three elements are indeed requirements for a good vision, I feel that such requirements are established “as a result” and cannot say much about how to set up a good vision.
These “result-oriented requirements of vision” are naturally fulfilled when the “cause-oriented requirements of vision” are fulfilled. It’s not so unanimous that they are automatically fulfilled, but if you can fulfill the causal requirements, it’s not so difficult to fulfill the result-oriented requirements.
Now let’s see how each of the result-oriented requirements relates to the three causal-oriented requirements.
As for the requirement of “clarity,” it is because there is some original image or energy that we can draw it clearly. Clarity doesn’t come first; the original image or energy comes first.
As for the requirement of “common good,” it is not enough to have a common goal that is shared by many people. In some cases, even if we have a vision of the common good, it might be just an agenda. This is often due to a lack of connection with the “inner energy” as I mentioned in my previous article. It is fundamentally important to have both “inner energy and KOKOROZASHI(aspiration)”.
As for the requirement of empathy, it comes from a combination of inner energy, aspiration rather than ambition, and transformative changes in consciousness. The amount of passion that comes from “inner energy” influences people. And by being “KOKOROZASHI(aspirational), not ambitious,” that passion will move people.
In addition to this, “accompanied by the transformative change of consciousness,” it is possible to have a breadth and depth that can be overlapped with the subjective truth of each individual. Because it is accompanied by a transformation of consciousness, which is the cause of the phenomena, the events that are expected to appear as a result have a wider scope, and it is easier to find a connection with the subjective truth of each individual.
By doing this, not only does the passion move the person, but the passion resonates with the person’s subjective truth and becomes their own matter. From followership, where one is moved by the passion of others, it changes to leadership, where one moves others with one’s own passion.
Cause-oriented requirements can begin to be addressed at any time
We have seen how cause-oriented requirements are connected to result-oriented requirements.
If you look again at the causal requirements, you will notice that all of them are related to “consciousness” which, as the starting point for everything, can be “started at any time”.
As I have mentioned several times in the past, consciousness is the root of phenomena.
Phenomenon
↓
Structure and background of the phenomenon
↓
Behavior
↓
Decision
↓
Thoughts and feelings
↓
Mental models (Belief systems)
↓
Intuition (Subjective truth)
↓
Self (The subject of self-consciousness)
Perceiving a vision at the level of consciousness is like moving from the bottom of the diagram above to the top. By perceiving visions at the level of consciousness, rather than at the level of phenomena, we can “start working on them” at any time, and they can create an impact that generates empathy and resonance.
If we only want to determine whether a vision we already have is a good vision or not, we can simply focus on the result-oriented requirements of a good vision.
However, in order to create a good vision, or to reinterpret or reconfigure an existing vision, it is recommended to start with the cause-oriented requirements. It is recommended to create or reinterpret a vision so that it meets the cause-oriented requirements, and then express it so that it meets the result-oriented requirements.
So far, we have discussed the requirements for good vision, dividing them into cause-oriented and result-oriented requirements. Finally, let’s summarize what we have discussed so far.
The (Cause-oriented) Requirements for a Good Vision
・Connectedness with the subjective truth: Connectedness with the subjective truth of oneself and team members, drawing out their inner energy.
・Not ambition, but KOKOROZASHI: Not just for oneself (ambition), but for others including oneself (KOKOROZASHI). And inner energy and KOKOROZASHI are compatible.
・Implications of a transformative change in consciousness: This implies not only a change in phenomena, but also a transformative change in consciousness.The (Result-oriented) Requirements for a Good Vision
・Clarity: A three-dimensional, dynamic image of the future can be imagined.
・Common good: An image that, when realized, will lead to the happiness of many people.
・Empathy: To be able to relate to the vision and think of it as one’s own.
Here are the quests of the day. (If you’d like, please share your thoughts in the comments.)
・Assume one thing that you think is a good vision. How does that vision meet the “result-oriented requirements of a good vision”?
・How is the vision likely to meet the cause-oriented requirements of a good vision? What are the connections between the cause-oriented and result-oriented requirements?
Bunshiro Ochiai
