Common Vision, Common Purpose, Common Goal

Honest homeless man’s fund over $91K via crowd funding. 

http://news.yahoo.com/fund-set-honest-homeless-man-raises-91k-060359331.html  The story touched enough people that by now it’s probably over $100K.  

 The point here is not his honesty nor the money but what the guy who set up the fund said that I have been “preaching” for over 50 years.  Ethan Whittington, who started the fund, has been overwhelmed by the response but he understands why it works as revealed in this quote: “If we come together and work toward one thing and work together, then we can make it happen.”

What I experienced in World War II was what I call the circle of success, common vision, common purpose, common goals.  It is what works to make an organization, a jurisdiction, a country successful.  What is often missing are the will and the desire to come together and create that vision, purpose and mission around what we can all agree on that we either need or want to happen.

The most recent decade has seen plenty of examples of political obfuscation that results in inaction, a kind of institutional arteriosclerosis.  There are also wonderful examples of success at the micro level, individuals like Whittington and others who are having an impact in positive and constructive ways, rewarding desirable behavior and reinforcing the principles and practices of ethical choices.

So, what will you do today to advance common vision, common purpose and common goals?  What is your individual and institutional mission?  How will you invest your time and energy today to get the biggest bang for your efforts and the greatest return on your investment?  Go ahead, make your choices conscious and intentional and take the initiative to act and get out of the react and respond mode for awhile.  You will feel better at the end of the day, guaranteed.