Background InformationThere are relatively few people that are universally regarded as visionaries. Some might include individuals, such as Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, and the Wright Brothers. While universally acclaimed, they are often disregarded as super-talented geniuses, or outliers that live outside of the range of normal human experience. Leaders have vision. They share a dream and direction that other people want to share and follow. The leadership vision of an individual goes beyond the written organizational mission statement and their vision statement. The vision of leadership permeates the workplace and is manifested in the actions, beliefs, values and goals of your organization's leaders.
In 2001, Sheryl Sandberg went to work for Google selling online advertising, and was employed until 2008. In March of that year, Mark Zuckerburg hired Sandberg away from Google to become the Chief Operating Officer for Facebook. With her experience at Google, she was able to make Facebook profitable. Her leadership experience gained at Google made a difference at Facebook. Since that time, Sandberg is known for the Lean In movement, from her book Lean In.
Discussion Prompt
In this module, we are talking about leadership vision. John F. Kennedy famously dreamed of putting a man on the moon. Eleanor Roosevelt envisioned a world of equal opportunity for women and minorities. Wendy Kopp was still a college student when she dreamed of making American schools better by creating a cadre of young, enthusiastic teachers. Compelling visions can truly change the world. In 1982, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) had a scare. Someone tainted a batch of their famous Tylenol Pain reliever. J&J has a corporate credo. Please read the credo and this article about the scare. After reviewing the information in the credo, did J&J rely on it during the scare? Describe the importance of having a vision for an organization's success, and use real-life examples to support these views.
Tasks
- Discuss whether J&J relied on the credo during the scare.
- Describe the importance of having a vision for an organization's success.
- Apply examples from real-life to support the use of a vision for an organization's success.