Goals:

• To increase sales by 20 percent in the next quarter.
• To have the new documents approved by the Legal Department by May 20th.

Visions:

The vision of Phil Turner, facilities manager for Raychem Corporation, responds to his sense that employees care about their space. He sees the job of the facilities division as making people feel good: “Our job is to lift people’s spirits through beauty, cleanliness, and functionality, enthusiasm, good cheer, and excellence.” Their symbol: A hot air balloon!

The vision of Podesta Baldocchi, florist, is expressed simply but eloquently: “We don’t sell flowers; we sell beauty.”

Liza Foley, president and CEO of Canton Industrial Corporation, the only publicly held woman-owned manufacturing facility in the United States, envisions taking her fledgling (but thriving) organization “to a $100 million company in less than five years. I want to make acquisition of perhaps undervalued assets similar to this in strategic locations throughout the country that will allow us to service some of our key customers from several locations. I want to make Canton, Illinois, the mailbox capital of the world. I can see a little sign as you enter the town: ‘Welcome to Canton, the mailbox capital of the world.’”

Jean-Louis Gassee, senior vice president of research and development for Apple Computer, represents his company’s vision this way: “What we stand for is innovation... also hope, freedom, fun...in our hearts, minds, guts, and muscle...we stand for bringing computer power to the people so they can share in the fun...We don’t have to wear our suits in our heads...[We} celebrate the human mind...We share our love for Apple.”

Robert L. Swiggett, chairperson and CEO of Kollmorgen Corporation, crystallizes — literally — his vision for the organization into something that is concrete, tangible, and that is an utterly breathtaking and compelling symbol. Swiggett gets his people to visualize the largest diamond they have ever seen...“maybe three inches long”...Visualize the diamond slowly rotating, and, with every time one of the facets of the diamond lines up with your eyes, it scintillates...flashes...blue-white light in a verbal sense. Think that it means number one. First. Absolutely first.... First with the best. And what we try to do in our business, in some way, is to measure everything we do against this big diamond in the sky, being first with the best.

NEXT >