Page 139 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

124 Just Promoted!

■ The importance of the group’s quest for vision, mission,
and values
■ Key planks in your platform
■ Acting consistently: Developing good public relations for your
positions
■ Questions to consider in your development of the organization’s
vision, mission, and values

CATERPILLARS AND SPOTLIGHTS: THE CONCEPT
OF ORGANIZATIONAL VISION

Processionary caterpillars feed upon pine needles. They move through the
trees in a long procession, one leading and the others following, each with his
eyes half closed and his head snugly fitted against the rear extremity of his
predecessor. Jean-Henri Fabre, the great French naturalist, patiently experi-
menting with a group of the caterpillars, finally enticed them to the rim of a
large flower pot, where he succeeded in getting the first one connected up with
the last one, thus forming a complete circle, which started moving around in
a procession that had neither beginning nor end.
The naturalist expected that after a while they would catch on to the joke,
get tired of their useless march, and start off in some new direction. But not so.
Through sheer force of habit, the living, creeping circle kept moving
around the rim of the pot—around and around, keeping the same relentless
pace for seven days and seven nights—and it would doubtlessly have contin-
ued longer had it not been for sheer exhaustion and ultimate starvation. Inci-
dentally, an ample supply of food was close at hand and plainly visible, but it
was outside the range of the circle so they continued along the beaten path.
They were following their instinct . . . habit . . . custom . . . tradition . . .
past experience . . . “standard practice” . . . or whatever you may choose to call
it, but they were following blindly. They mistook activity for accomplishment.
They meant well, but they didn’t achieve anything. 1
Like processionary caterpillars, many organizations seem to go in circles;
they lack overall direction, purpose, meaning, and a true sense of their mis-
sion, values, and future. These organizations rarely innovate and are almost
always followers in their industries.