Chapter 7
Creating vision and Purpose
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
1
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
• 7-1 Explain the relationship among vision, mission, strategy, and mechanisms
for execution.
• 7-2 Define vision and its impact on an organization.
• 7-3 Describe the types and importance of personal visions held by employees.
• 7-4 Describe four basic approaches for framing a noble purpose that
followers can believe in.
• 7-5 Explain the role of strategic management for executing the vision.
• 7-6 Apply the elements of effective strategy.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Stimulating Vision and Action
• Effective leaders communicate a vision that taps into dreams for the
future and link those dreams with strategic actions.
• Vision provides the why, whereas strategic action provides the how.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Linking Strategic Vision and Strategic
Action
Source: Based on William D. Hitt, The Leader-Manager: Guidelines for Action (Columbus, OH: Battelle Press, 1988), p. 7.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Decide Strategic Action
Strategic leadership means the ability to anticipate and
envision the future, maintain flexibility, think strategically,
and work with others to initiate changes that will create a
competitive advantage for the organization in the future.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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The Domain of Strategic Leadership
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Leadership Vision (1 of 2)
A vision is a vivid mental image of what the organization
will accomplish in the future.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Leadership Vision (2 of 2)
• Vision Links the Present to the Future
• Vision Energizes People and Focuses Attention
• Vision Gives Meaning to Work
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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The Nature of the Vision
Source: Based on William D. Hitt, The Leader-Manager: Guidelines for Action (Columbus, OH: Battelle Press, 1988).
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Vision Statements
Examples of Brief Vision Statements
• McDonald’s: Be the best quick service restaurant experience.
• Nike: Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. (*If you have a
body, you are an athlete.)
• Oxfam: A world without poverty.
• Zoom: Video communications empowering people to accomplish more.
• Four Seasons: Be recognized as the company that manages the finest hotels, resorts,
and residence clubs wherever we locate.
• BAE Systems (defense company): To protect those who protect us.
• Patagonia: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire
and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
Sources: These examples are from Stephanie Ray, “A Guide to Writing the Perfect Vision Statement (with Examples),” ProjectManager (May 16, 2018),
www.projectmanager.com/blog/guide-writing-perfect-vision-statement-examples (accessed April 15, 2021); “About Us,” Zoom Web site, https://zoom.us/about
(accessed April 26, 2021); “Four Seasons Service Culture,” Four Seasons Web site, www.fourseasons.com/about_four_seasons/service_culture/ (accessed April 26,
2021); and “We Protect Those Who Protect Us,” York Daily Record (May 12, 2010), www.ydr.com/ci_15067292 (accessed May 16, 2013).
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Leaders Ignite Individual Purpose in Others
Individual purpose is a predominant sense of what matters
in our lives and what is personally meaningful and valued.
Leaders can help people find their individual purpose and
then make sure individual and organizational purpose are
connected and mutually reinforcing.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Types of Individual Purpose
Source: “Nine Types of Individual Purpose,” in Naina Dhingra, Jonathan Emmett, Andrew Samo, and Bill Schaninger,
“Igniting Individual Purpose in Times of Crisis,” McKinsey Quarterly (August 18, 2020), www.mckinsey.com/businessfunctions/organization/our-insights/igniting-individual-purpose-in-times-of-crisis (accessed April 19, 2021).
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Mission
The mission is the organization’s core broad reason for
existence. It defines the company’s core values and reason
for being, and it provides a basis for creating the vision.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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The Power of a Strong Mission
Source: Susan Ellingwood, “On a Mission,” Gallup Management Journal (Winter 2001), pp. 6–7.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Aflac’s Mission and Values
Source: http://www.aflac.com/aboutaflac/corporateoverview/ourphilosophy.aspx
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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A Framework for Noble Purpose
A Leader’s Framework for Noble Purpose
Purpose
Description
Basis for Action
Examples
Discovery
Finding the new
Pioneer, entrepreneur
Google, 3M, Pfizer,
Samsung
Excellence
Being the best
Fulfillment
Berkshire Hathaway,
Apple
Altruism
Providing service
Happiness
Warby Parker, Dannon
Milk Products, Etsy
Heroism
Being effective
Achievement
Amazon, Southwest
Airlines, ExxonMobil
Source: Based on Nikos Mourkogiannis, Purpose: The Starting Point of Great Companies (New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2006); and Nikos Mourkogiannis, “The Realist’s Guide to Moral Purpose,” Strategy + Business 41 (Winter 2005), pp. 42–53.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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The Leader as Strategist
Strategic management refers to the set of decisions and
actions used to formulate and implement specific
strategies that will achieve a competitively superior fit
between the organization and its environment so as to
achieve organizational goals.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Use Strategy to Achieve the Vision (1 of 2)
Strategy can be defined as the general plan of action that
describes resource allocation and other activities for
dealing with the environment and helping the organization
attain its goals and achieve the vision.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Use Strategy to Achieve the Vision (2 of 2)
• Leaders ask questions such as:
• Where is the organization now?
• Where does the organization want to be?
• What changes and trends are occurring in the competitive
environment?
• What courses of action can help us achieve our vision?
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Strategy Formulation
Strategy formulation integrates knowledge of the
environment, vision, and mission with the company’s core
competence in such a way as to attain synergy and create
value for customers.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Strategy Execution
Strategy execution involves putting strategy into action by
adjusting various parts of the organization and directing
resources to accomplish strategic goals.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Effective Strategy Implementation
• Create ongoing communication
• Teach the “Why.”
• Explain what this new thing means to each person.
• Explain what is not changing.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Knowledge check - Discussion
• Strategic vision and strategic action are both needed for a leader to be
effective. Which do you think you are better at doing? Why? Discuss
with a partner.
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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Summary
• The Leader’s Job: Looking Forward
• Leadership Vision
• Leaders Ignite Individual Purpose in Others
• Mission
• The Leader as Strategist
Richard L. Daft, The Leadership Experience, 8th Edition. © 2023 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
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