I don’t disagree with the effect
a positive vision statement can have on an organization. To be clear, vision on its own is an integral
part of all levels of strategy while a Vision Statement does not necessarily
carry the same weight. Vision statements
are important, however, where that vision statement fits, and when it should
come into play is where I disagree with others in my field.
Vision statements are purposely
both ambiguous and defined. Vision
statements should evoke emotion, but very seldom stimulate internal
action. Having a vision and making that
vision a reality are too very different things.
Anyone can put fancy words on a piece of paper and call it a vision statement. Even the best vision statements, with their
clarity of goals, focus and attachment to values do little more than provide ambiguous
statements that could be the same goal as every one of your competitors. We all want to a little healthier, or a
little less stressed, etc. Telling
someone that our vision of our lives is to be healthy and happy while we smoke
a cigarette and cry about someone hurting our feelings gives mixed signals. How
does the adage go? “Actions speak louder
than words”.
A vision statement should be not
only about what is paramount within the organization, but also what is
possible. That realm of possibility has
limitations based on so many different aspects of a business. You can’t have a vision statement to be a
world leader in anything, if you have no access to the whole world. It could be argued that vision statements
should be best case scenarios or end results and that the strategy is going to
be chronologically segmented to eventually lead to the final result. Of course that would add a degree of finality
to the organization and nobody really wants to involve mortality into an
organizational strategy.
Vision statements or Mission
statements have a place in business and a place in their strategy. If nothing else, they are a rallying cry for
the organization to gather to when faced with critical decisions or a cross
road in their business. While important to
defining what a culture should look like, and how those within that culture
should act, they will only serve the purpose they intend to serve. Statements in an organization should always
be in the background of any plan or action, but when they become more than
white noise, not only do they become less effective, but their power abates
significantly.
I have read numerous articles or
posts in regards to vision statements being anchor points or cornerstones to
organizational strategy. Each time I
read them, I seem to get more and more swayed towards believing the opposite to
be true. Like buzzwords, adages, clichés,
etc. things can have a tendency to become overused. The concept of improvement or growth is
aligned with the concept of effective organizational change far more than with the
ability to have a great vision statement.
Goals and values are a large part of the organizational change plan, and
statements provide guidance for those goals, but shouldn’t be more than that.
Mission and Vision statements
look good on marketing brochures, effective organizational management looks
good on a balance sheet. While I would
agree that good marketing is a necessity to a good balance sheet, the strength
of the balance sheet isn’t entirely predicated on how good that marketing
is. Statements in an organization have
their role. Perhaps instead of a
cornerstone or anchor point to a good strategic plan, they should be looked at
as more of a halo or dome covering the organization under which all actions and
plans are determined.
While this may seem to some an
issue of semantics, I would argue strongly that positioning your statements in
the right place has an effect on your ability to run your organization. You can rally your team to “remember the
Alamo”, but if you haven’t equipped them to win the battle, you end up with a
bunch of patriotic dead people. When you
have effective tactics, empowerment and leadership under the umbrella of solid
values, your chance at success becomes exceedingly higher. Knowing
where you want to go is important figuring out a good path to get there is
imperative. Understanding how to use a
statement in your organization is more strategic than having one. Strategy and vision have to be mutually exclusive. One without the other is either a plan with
no purpose or an idea with no action. Using one to create the other will become an
unending circle with no results.
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