Reflections in Excellence

Is Your Vision Getting a Little Blurry? (28 March 2002)

Many organisations have a Vision or Mission Statement (and possibly both). But are they useful? Where our 'vision statements' merely provide a description of our business and how we'd like things to be done, the cynics may have their point.

We all remember the Mission Statement fad. Every organisation had one, more because they thought they needed to, rather than actually understanding why. The corporate 'love in' became the essential and cathartic process used to create a unifying statement of strategic direction. Affirmations of teamwork, integrity and trust were made while re-affirming a vision to seek to be the 'leading provider' of our particular goods or services. Adorning walls and cubicles the new statement of strategic direction was displayed with pride. Whether we called it a Mission Statement, Corporate Vision, Values Code or some other name, the message was often the same: "The words are not as important as the process of getting them"

Why then, for so many organisations, do the words that seemed so important immediately after this introspective process was complete, later seem either generic or esoteric? While full of good intentions, somewhere along the way we missed the point of the process in setting a clear strategic direction. Having no guide as to form, we lost our way in finding the substance.

To avoid this, can we find out what a good Mission Statement looks like? Jeffrey Abrahams, in his book of 301 Mission Statements of Leading American Corporates, notes there is no prescribed form for a Mission Statement1. A Mission Statement is really any forward looking statement of strategic positioning, direction or intent. It can be a statement of driving purpose, a description of what the organisation does, a vision of its future or a statement of the values it uses to get there. All of these fall within the broad ambit of Mission Statements. While no two Mission Statements are the same as to their form, they do appear to fall into two distinct types - those that work and those that don't. So how do we recognise the difference?

Perhaps it is easier to first know what a Mission Statement is not. A Mission Statement should not be a generic statement of business strategy. While the words may be in different guises, any introspective look into a business operation will probably derive, sooner or later, a Mission Statement along the following lines:

"Our Mission is to deliver the best products at the best price through outstanding customer service, while working together as a team and living our core principles of honesty, communication, integrity and trust."

A Mission Statement such as this is instantly attractive. It says the right things. But does it crystallize the essence of the organisation or is it merely a statement of what every organisation must do? Although beguiling, it does not meet the main requirement of a successful Mission Statement: To provide a clear statement of an 'aspirational and inspirational future direction and the way of getting there' that is unique to your organisation.

Providing the 'best customer service at the best price while balancing the competing influences of profit and people' (and possibly the environment) is a statement of the fundamentals of every business. This realisation is an important first step for many organisations. But is it really a Mission Statement? The answer is, probably not.

It seems that the longer the process of introspection, the longer the list of 'essential' aspects of running a business that are discovered; and the wordier the statement. In having achieved this first stage, our vision of the future often then blurs into a description of the present. The Mission Statement then becomes more of a list of key elements of the question, rather than an intrinsically complete answer. Displaying it on the walls only highlights the unanswered question - and it is quickly returned to the bottom drawer.

So why is this apparently simple process so rarely completed well? The reason is that to find a motivating and clear Vision and reflect this in a simple statement is difficult. The dynamics involved are very complex and often they are not understood. The Mission generating process may go deep enough to get a result, but not deep enough to find, and clearly state, the essential truth that provides the ongoing motivation we are looking for. While willing to do the work, it is the lack of a structure around the usual process that lets us down. An incomplete truth will only ever provide part of the answer. The disillusionment with an incomplete process is therefore to be expected.

So what then are the qualities of a successful and complete process that will create an effective statement of strategic direction and intent? We can give any name to the overall statement, but to be effective we must achieve clarity in the following five essential elements: 1. Aim, 2. Vision, 3. Mission, 4. Purpose and 5. Guiding Principles.

These appear to be the necessary dynamics for a successful and motivating statement of strategic direction; being one that works. Each element should be distinct and clear and when combined together, they should integrate into a complete whole. Understanding their relevance and the difference between them is the key. Let's look at each in turn.

An Aim is a customer-focused statement of what it is that makes your organisation 'outstanding'. This is the reason why your customers choose your organisation over another, or why they are delighted with your service (rather than merely being satisfied). Although like a slogan, it is however, much more than this. The Aim needs to be a statement of demonstrable difference, rather than merely 'intent'. The Avis' 'We try harder' slogan, backed by corporate values and a strong customer focus, is a classic example.

An effective Vision is a statement of what 'we hope for, dream of and work towards' and should be both aspirational and inspirational. Microsoft had an ambitious vision: 'A computer on every desk and in every home', which is becoming a reality. While ambitious, your Vision needs to be potentially attainable. It should also be a statement of how things should be, not how they are now. Leadership writer Burt Nanus has defined a Vision as 'a realistic, credible, attractive future … an articulation toward which you should aim, that in important ways is better, more successful, or more desirable than the present'2. If the Vision is a statement of the present, there is nothing to aim for.

A Mission is distinctly different, and this is where the confusion lies. The Mission is the statement of what we do that takes us closer to our Vision. The two must connect. One must by its action alone lead to the other. By undertaking our Mission, our Vision will be achieved. A Mission statement that describes your day-to-day business: "We build the best widgets we possibly can", is only a reason to get through the day, not to work towards tomorrow. Rather than simply being a statement of what you are doing, a Mission (should you choose to accept it), is what you can do so as to 'achieve'.

This leads to the most overlooked component of successful strategic direction statement, the question that actually drives everything else - that of Purpose. A statement of Purpose is a statement of the reason why the organisation exists - its raison d'etre - its 'reason for being'. For many organisations this is so fundamental it has never been explicitly stated. For others it is buried so deep in history it has long been forgotten. Purpose differs from Vision, as having something to work towards is not, in itself, sufficient as a reason to 'be'. 'Making cartoons for kids' could describe The Walt Disney Company's original Mission, but 'Using our imagination to bring happiness to millions' is their statement of Purpose. Which do you prefer? What is one without the other? Discovery of Purpose is often the most challenging part of creating a strategic direction statement. This is why it is often overlooked. Without it there is no reason really to have an insight into the strategic intent of the organisation.

The final component necessary to complete the framework is a statement of Guiding Principles. These are similar to core values (eg. such as teamwork, honesty and trust) which are an implicit and essential part of the way in which organisations achieve their goals. But Guiding Principles are different in that they are unique to your organisation and describe the way you do things, in a way no one else does. By following them the organisation knows it has alignment with what it says it wants to achieve and the policies it uses to achieve it. The organisation does what it says it will.

Guiding Principles that make sense support and reinforce the Aim, rather than being in conflict with the main focus of the organisation. They provide a reference point for any action. They integrate with the Mission, reflect the organisation's Vision and help achieve the defined Purpose.

In combining each of these five components together we have the elements of a successful Vision or Mission Statement. However, naming the statement by one of its parts leads us to ignore the whole. Hence the confusion in the name. So what would you call a complete statement of your vision, mission, principles, purpose and aim? To clarify this we call the completed output a 'Statement of Strategic Insights'. An insight is 'a deep understanding of a hidden truth'. Often the truth about an organisation and its potential are hidden in the day to day. By developing an understanding of this future potential and clarity in the Vision, a strategic focus is created. When an organisation can put into words the essential nature of its business ethos with reference to its future goals and how it will achieve them, it has developed this 'strategic insight'.

Some organisations see no point in having this sense of corporate purpose. The quarterly profit and loss statements will provide all the direction and guidance required. They have no need for strategic insights and should probably not be tempted to create a statement that illustrates this. To do so may only cause dissonance, stress and cynicism, which should be avoided at all costs. This process is not for them.

So why then should we undertake a strategic insights process to clarify our corporate Vision? Nanus states that the 'right' Vision 'attracts commitment, energizes people, creates meaning, establishes standards of excellence and bridges the present and the future, building on the past'2. The important effect in organisations finding this 'right' Vision is that it creates a sense of true empowerment. People in the organisation know what they are doing and why, and can lead without being led. The strategic management of such organisations becomes dramatically simpler, making any effort involved in creating the strategic insights statement worthwhile in the direct return gained in business efficiency and the ongoing motivation of their people.

The main reason why organisations who are seeking to move to a complete statement of a strategic vision do not, is because they are not sure that a process exists to do so. The five key components of a successful forward looking statement of strategic intent: Aim, Vision, Mission, Purpose and Guiding Principles, come together to provide a complete structure. Giving form to the process means a statement of substance can then easily be found.

1. Abrahams, J. (1995) The Mission Statement Book, Kristy Melville, CA

2. Nanus, B. (1992) Visionary Leadership, Jossey Bass, San Francisco.

by William Varey

Executive Director,
Forsyth Consulting Group
www.fcg.com.au

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