In my earlier post, I mentioned  a training video of author-filmmaker-futurist Joel Arthur Barker, The Power of Vision.

In the video, Barker shared an interesting anecdote about Eugene Lang:

“In 1981, businessman Eugene M. Lang returned to P.S. 121, the elementary school he had attended in East Harlem 50 years earlier, to address a class of graduating sixth graders. He intended to tell the students, “Work hard and you’ll succeed.” But on the way to the podium, the school principal told Lang that three-quarters of the school’s students would probably never finish high school, prompting Lang to make an impromptu change to his speech: he promised college tuition to every sixth grader who stayed in high school and graduated.” 

Barker stated that the most successful students think in time horizons of five to ten years out while unsuccessful students have nearly no future picture. He also shared the research of Dr Benjamin Singrer on future focused role image.

Successful students saw in long time horizons with multiple alternatives. They had a belief that their own behavior made a big difference in how the future would turn out.

Less successful students saw in short time horizons with no idea of what they were going to be doing. They believed their lives were in the hands of fate.

Children with vision outperformed their assets. They had a profound belief in their future and their ability to use their own efforts to shape it.

If we want to increase student success, it will take more than just a future picture. But those pictures could drive innovation within schools and communities to implement learning opportunities missing in our current structures. Lang set up support systems in addition to the offer of college tuition. What future pictures drive your school and classroom innovations?

“And Lang’s original 61 Dreamers? Of the 54 who remain in contact with the organization, more than 90% have earned their high school diplomas or GED certificates; and 60% have pursued higher education. The Dreamers have received degrees from Bard College, Barnard College, Swarthmore College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, CUNY Hunter, and other schools. Almost all of the P.S. 121 Dreamers hold fulfilling jobs, and now their children are beginning to graduate from college.”

CHAMPIONING STUDENTS: CULTIVATING VIVID TIME HORIZONS VIA PROPRIETARY 'LIFESCAPING' METHODOLOGY

[continuation from the Last Post ~ in connection with the recent launch of a series of new programs intended for parents as well as their school-going kids/teens, under the auspices of 'The House of Creative Brains'.]


This is my favourite topic, also my strategic forte ~ vision-building.

My real-world experiential understanding of vision-building came from a memorable, though painful, personal encounter from my former "big boss" ~ the late Tan Sri [that's the Malaysian equivalent of "Sir"] Eric Chia, Chairman & CEO of the United Motor Works (UMW) Group during the early eighties, when I had joined them as a manager.

[Readers are welcome to pop into my 'Optimum Performance Technologies' weblog to read about that encounter.]

My working knowledge was subsequently expanded & fine-tuned when I came across the splendid work of futurist/film-maker/author Joel Arthur Barker during the early nineties, especially his acclaimed 'Power of Vision' video-based training program.

As a matter of fact, one of Barker's wise axioms often reverberates in my head, whenever I talk about vision building:

"Vision without action, is but a dream; action without vision just passes the time; vision with action can change the world."

Nonetheless, the latter then led me to the scholarly works of Canadian educational psychologist Dr Benjamin Singer, Dutch futurist & sociologist Dr Fred Polak, & Holocaust survivor & Austrian psychiatrist Dr Victor Frankl, who wrote his magnum opus, 'Man's Search for Meaning', as well as the research work of strategy consultants Jim Collins & Jerry Porras.

Collectively, they drove home the vital point about the power of vision-building:

Nations, organisations, individuals as well as students with vision are powerfully enabled. Those without vision are at risk.

Just as King Solomon had once said, as reported in the Bible of the Old Testament: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

In the case of students, Dr Benjamin Singer made these startling revelations, back in the sixties:

i) children with vision out-performed their assets;

ii) successful students had one thing in common: a profound belief in their future & their ability in their own efforts to shape it.

Likewise, based on the pioneering research work of Jim Collins & Jerry Porras, visionary organisations out-performed their assets, too.

As a nation, Singapore is a great example! Thanks to the compelling vision - & the strategic foresight - of MM Lee Kuan Yew & his colleagues as well as ministerial stalwarts, Goh Keng Swee, S Rajaratnam, Toh Chin Chye, Eddie Barker, etc., just to name a few of them.

By the way, what is "vision"?

A vision is just a simple idea or mental picture you have in your head about where you want to be in the future.

A clear vision helps one to pursue dreams & achieve goals.

A well-defined vision helps one to focus on the end-state of who you want to be, what you want to have &/or do, & where you want to go.

Generally, it can be applied in two different ways:

1) Inspiration ~ to inspire youself to follow your bliss & pursue your dreams;

2) Anticipation ~ to foresee the changes & improvements you want to have in the future;

When you can envision a future that is better, happier & more productive, you are more likely to make the necessary changes & improvements for yourself to attain that end-state in the future.

To Dr Karl Pribram of Stanford University, who works with sports champions, vision is akin to his "image of achievement".

By the way, what the difference between "vision building" & "goal setting"?

Operationally, they are complementary. A quick one... This is how I look at them:

- vision gives purpose & meaning; goals give direction & power;

- vision comes from the heart; goals come from the head;

At this juncture, I like to share an inspiring quote, to sum up "vision building" & "goal setting":

"If you have a vision and you find that someone doesn't share that vision, you either change the vision or change the people you share it with. We learn and grow one goal at a time. But to set meaningful goals, we need imaginative insight or vision."

~ Dr. Roberta Bondar, the world’s first astronaut-neurologist in space (with Discovery mission, 1992); also, globally recognized for her pioneering contribution to space medicine;

In essence, vision-building is a relatively easy endeavour, if you know how to go about it.

In fact, Dilip will share valuable lessons from the corporate world as well as educational arenas, besides coaching you on how to look at your own life strategically in long-range time-horizons, & also, how to do your own 'lifescape' using his proprietary 'lifescaping' methodology.

[to be continued in the Next Post.]

[For more information about the series of new programs under 'The House of Creative Brains', please get in touch with Ms. Faye Yeoh via her email faye_yeoh@yahoo.com]