Enviromental Analysis

The mission statement should address:

· Who should we serve?

· What should they receive?

· What is the ultimate result we seek?

A mission statement should be relatively short (under 100 words, if possible).

It must address the questions written above.

Craft the Vision

Visions can be short, such as “we will have a man on the moon”, or as long as a page or two. But, in either case, they must give a clear and compelling picture. There are no rules for creating visions.

The vision is a “one size fits all” statement filled with nice-sounding platitudes.

Contrast the visionary General Electric’s statement:

“To become #1 or #2 in every market we serve and revolutionize this company to have the speed and agility of a small enterprise”

with the vision of the far-less-successful company, Westinghouse:

“Total Quality . . . Market Leadership . . .Technology Driven . . . Global . . . Focused Growth . . . Diversified.”

Who can argue with the terms of the Westinghouse vision, but what do they mean? And, more important, how could they possibly influence how a manager makes decisions? Note the clarity of GE’s word picture.

Set the Stage

Hold a conversation that focuses on the question: Who is the customer for the vision? In other words, who is going to use the vision? How will it be used?

A vision statement is often a one- or two-page word picture of what you want to create. It is a story written in the present tense as if that envisioned reality were already occurring. There is no set formula for a vision statement. You use your heart and gut as a guide. Does it inspire you? Will it focus your attention?

Here is a way to create a vision statement:

1. Think about the following:

“Relax. Imagine the future — three to five years from now. Imagine your organization has become everything you’ve hoped for.”

“Allow an image to come to mind. What does this ideal picture look like? Explore this image. . . . Who is in it? . . . What’s going on in the scene? . . . What makes it so ideal? . . . What are people saying? . . . What are they doing? . . . Now, let that image go. . . . Allow another image to come into view. Explore this image. . . . Who’s in it? . . . What’s going on? . . . Where are you in this scene? . . . What’s it feel like to work here? . . . Now, allow this image to fade.”

2. “Jot down what you envisioned during this exercise.” Allow time for writing.

3. “Please sit quietly again and close your eyes. . . . Imagine that time in the future again. . . . A reporter from The Wall Street Journal is going to do a story on your organization. The reporter’s focus is on why you are the leader in the industry. What would you show the reporter as examples of things that make you particularly proud? . . . Be specific in your thinking and explore this image in some detail. . . . Perhaps the reporter is asking you questions. How would you respond? . . . Allow this image to fade.”

4. “Take a couple of minutes to jot down the images that came to mind during this last visualization exercise.”

5. Talk about what you envisioned.

6. Begin grouping the info as you share them. Can you craft a vision story from the group’s images?

Determine Your Values

Discuss:

· In order to be successful, what values do we need to follow?

· What values are implied in our mission and vision statements?

· Which of these values are absolutely critical. Limit this list to a few items (five to seven).

· What would it look like if we were living by those values?

· What would it take for us to live by those values?