{"id":59,"date":"2008-05-16T08:12:00","date_gmt":"2008-05-16T08:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localenterprise.wordpress.com\/?p=59"},"modified":"2008-05-16T08:12:00","modified_gmt":"2008-05-16T08:12:00","slug":"connecting-with-a-vision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/realisedevelopment.net\/index.php\/2008\/05\/16\/connecting-with-a-vision\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting with a Vision for Leeds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Vision for Leeds is an internationally competitive European city at the heart of a prosperous region where everyone can enjoy a high quality of life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leeds Initiative Vision for Leeds – 2004 2020<\/p>\n

That must seem like a pretty distant vision for many Leeds residents.\u00a0 For the tens of thousands that are living on incapacity benefits.\u00a0 For those who have no job.\u00a0 For those who work in the third sector and are more interested in social justice than international competitiveness.\u00a0 For parents who are struggling to raise and educate their children.\u00a0 For pensioners. For migrants and refugees.<\/p>\n

But the problem is not with the vision per se<\/em>.\u00a0 The problem lies with the resources available to help a very wide range of people and communities to connect with it.\u00a0 To understand why it is relevant to them and how it can help them to make progress on their agenda.\u00a0 How it can help them find a sense of belonging in a Leeds community that is striving to make ‘progress’.<\/p>\n

For a vision to be effective a wide range of stakeholders have to be able to connect with it and make sense of it in their own context, and then to use it to leverage action – to make things happen.\u00a0 Otherwise it is just words.\u00a0 I suspect it is no accident that this ‘Vision for Leeds’ appeals so directly to the white collar community, to the developers and the investors.\u00a0 To those that have power shall be given more.<\/p>\n

Visions can help to pull us towards a more attractive future, but only if they are relevant to us and are dripping with possibilities for action.<\/p>\n

In the world of organisational and business development the ‘Vision backlash’ has started.\u00a0 Instead of dreaming of distant possibilities those leading the backlash ask:<\/p>\n