Welcome from the Editor

by James Handscombe

Vision is an overused word in my line of work. One has to formulate, develop, share and renew a vision so that it can empower and enrich the partners, customers and community. Nobody stops to ask why but it’s clear that vision is pretty important.

My favourite vision story is one of a scientist called Kekulé struggling to understand the structure of a chemical called benzene. He knew the chemical make-up: six atoms of carbon, six of hydrogen, but couldn’t see how they could fit together to make a single compound. For weeks he worked at it, puzzling over endless diagrams scrawled across endless blackboards.

One day, his mind befuddled by fumes and hours of concentration, he got onto the bus to go home. He went upstairs and had a smoke and somebody spoke and he went into a dream (or that’s how I like to think of it) and as he dozed he dreamed of a snake curving across an endless blackboard. On and on the snake slid until finally it curved round and bit its tail. Kekulé awoke with a vision: the snake was the benzene molecule and by making his diagram curve into a circle he could have a molecule with the properties he needed.

Who wouldn’t want vision like that?

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