What is the difference between GOAL and VISION?

This is an inspirational and informative article from 'Thenewconstructs' written by Mr.Sudhakar Ram. When i read it first time, I could not stop myself to post this article on my Blog because i used to ask myself how to differentiate between Goal and Vision.

“I have a dream”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed. His dream was racial equality, building upon Gandhi’s vision of freedom through ahimsa – non-violence. These men were powerful because their visions inspired millions, and changed the world.

Jack Welch, the venerated CEO of General Electric, had a goal for every business his conglomerate was in. “I want to be No. 1 or 2 in every business”, he proclaimed. This goal drove GE forward for a while, of course. But it did not last.

What’s the difference between what Dr. King wanted, and what Jack Welch wanted? Visions for humankind versus goals for a corporation? We tend to confuse vision with goals. Gandhi and King had a vision. Welch had a goal. A goal, in the absence of a vision, is limited in value.

Most of us need both vision and goals. Goals are good mechanisms to help members of a team understand where they are headed, and to spur them to produce the desired outcome. However, goals are time-bound, finite, and limited in their power. Very few people wake up every morning with the burning desire to make their company No. 1 or 2. I would look at such people as limited and boring – one-dimensional in their approach. Yes, goals can motivate, in the short term. But goals can also cause competitiveness, aggressiveness, and selfishness in people, including among members of a team. The goal of winning is fine, and even fun, in a game of football or cricket. But extended to the game called life, it becomes a constraining obsession.


Vision, on the other hand, is not a thing to be achieved. It is a way to live your life. Gandhi was the epitome of freedom and ahimsa in the way he lived his life. He chose to be free even as India was ruled by the British.

As I observe my daughter, Samvitha, I can see her vision. In simple terms, her vision is to be happy and awesome. She puts her heart and mind into everything she does. Her vision carries through to every aspect of her life – her academics, her relationships, her writing, and more. Her vision sometimes translates into specific goals – like topping her class in a subject. My wife and I occasionally get concerned; she takes on so much, and is unstinting in her effort to excel at everything she does. For instance, there were times when she had set her heart on ‘maxing’ some exams, but her results were a shade lower than her expectations. We thought she would be deeply disappointed. We thought she might be disheartened. And she was. But only briefly. She bounced back into her bubbly self pretty fast. To me, that showed that her long-term vision was more important than her short-term goals.

Living one’s vision can be an end in itself, with no attachment to the outcome. It’s like Gandhi feeling fulfilled even though India was not free. Or Samvitha choosing to remain awesome, despite falling a little short of her very high aspirations. She chalked it up to experience. This would be the mark of a true karma yogi, living Bhagavad Gita’s message of “Karmanye vadhikaraste” – doing one’s duty and living one’s true calling with no attachment to the outcomes of one’s efforts.

The Connected Age will require more of us to be vision-oriented rather than goal-oriented. People will connect with their true calling – living a life that is unique and meaningful, contributing to the world around them. Do share your own vision with the New Constructs community.

Long live the earth.

Population Explosion India

Check out these few pictures...Is it time to take some lesson in our life??

Imagine your future....

These picture are from place 'Govardhan' near Mathura in UP.




















Now these are few pictures from our Delhi Metro...God knows what will happen in future..