Defining Company Vision
Bryson McCleary
Outline
• Company Vision Defined
• Brainstorming Exercise
• Core Ideology
• Envisioned Future
• Summary
• Words of Warning
• Readings List
Company Vision Defined
“Vision is an image of a possible and desirable
“Vision
provides
guidance
about what
core
future state
for an
organization…
It describes
preserve
what of
future
to stimulate
atofuture
goaland
or level
attainment
and
progresspeople
toward.”
inspires
to work toward a higher level
- James Collins and Jerry Porras
of performance.”
- Arleatta Bartelson
Brainstorming Exercise
• Think of a well-known organization; try to
dictate what you think their vision is in your
own words.
• Now think of your own life; what is YOUR
vision statement?
Vision in Two Halves
Core Ideology
Envisioned Future
•Core Values
•Core Purpose
•Long-term BHAG (Big,
Hairy, Audacious, Goal)
•Vivid Description
Core Ideology
• What we stand for and why we exist. It is to
guide and inspire, not differentiate.
• Consists of two distinct parts:
1. Core Values
2. Core Purpose
Core Values
• A small set of timeless guiding principles;
they are important and of value to those
inside the organization.
• No universally “right” set of core values.
Who defines core values?
MARS GROUP
Core Values
• CEO of Johnson & Johnson: “The core
values embodied in our credo might be a
competitive advantage, but that is not why
we have them. We have them because they
define for us what we stand for, and we
would hold them even if they became a
competitive disadvantage in certain
situations.”
Walt Disney Core Values
• No cynicism
• Nurturing and promulgation of "wholesome
American values"
• Creativity, dreams, and imagination
• Fanatical attention to consistency and detail
• Preservation and control of the Disney
magic
Exercise
• Define your Personal Core Values. Write
them down.
Remember, the values must stand the test of time.
Ask yourself: “If my circumstances changed, would I still
keep these values?” If not, it is probably not a core value
to you.
Core Purpose
• The organization's reason for being. It
captures the soul of the organization.
• Purpose should not be confused with
specific goals or business strategies.
The “Multiple Why’s”
• Start with a statement about your company:
“We make __ products” or “We provide__
services” or “We do __.”
• “Why is that important?” Ask the question
MULTIPLE times.
Example: Good vs. Bad
Effective purpose
Ineffective
purpose:
:
"To
the social
fabric by continually
"Westrengthen
exist to fulfill
our government
charter
democratizing
and
participate home
in the ownership."
secondary mortgage
market by packaging mortgages-Fannie
into Mae
investment securities."
Exercise
• Using the “Multiple Why’s” technique, find
your current organization’s core purpose.
Vision in Two Halves
Core Ideology
Envisioned Future
•Core Values
•Core Purpose
•Long-term BHAG (Big,
Hairy, Audacious, Goal)
•Vivid Description
Envisioned Future
• What we aspire to become, to achieve, or to
create. It will require significant change and
progress to attain.
• Two parts:
1. BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)
2. Vivid Description
Big Hairy Audacious Goal
• Only a 50% to 70% probability of success,
but the organization must believe that it can
reach the goal anyway.
• Four categories: target, common-enemy,
role-model, and internal-transformation.
BHAG Categories
• Internal-transformation
Target BHAG:
Common-enemy
Role-Model
BHAG:
BHAG:
BHAG:
“Transform
this
company
from
a defense
“Democratize
“Become
the
Harvard
“Crush
the
automobile”
Adidas”
of the
West”
contractor
into
the
best
diversified
high- Ford Motor
-Stanford
- Nike,
Company,
University,
1960searly 1900s
1940s
technology company in the world”
-Rockwell, 1995
Beware of…
The Complacency Syndrome
• A lethargy that arises once an organization
has achieved one BHAG and fails to replace
it with another.
Vivid Description
• A vibrant, engaging, and specific
description of what it will be like to achieve
the BHAG.
(Paint a picture in people’s minds)
Vivid Description Example
• "I will build a motor car for the great multitude .... It will
be so low in price that no man making a good salary will
be unable to own one and enjoy with his family the
blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces...
When I'm through, everybody will be able to afford one,
and everyone will have one. The horse will have
disappeared from our highways, the automobile will be
taken for granted...[and we will] give a large number of
men employment at good wages.“
- Henry Ford
Summary
• Core Value = Timeless principles valuable
VISION
inside the company
• Purpose = Star to be chased forever
=
Core
Value
+
Purpose
+
BHAG
+
Vivid
• BHAG = Mountain to be climbed
Description
• Vivid Description = Paint a picture
A few words of warning…
“Building a visionary company requires 1%
vision and 99% alignment.”
- Jim Collins
“Good to Great”
• “In each of these dramatic, remarkable, good-togreat corporate transformations, we found the
same thing: There was no miracle moment.
Instead, a down-to-earth, pragmatic, committedto-excellence process - a framework - kept each
company, its leaders, and its people on track for
the long haul.”
-Jim Collins, “Good to Great”
Works Cited & Reading List
Bartelson, Arleatta. “How to Create Vision in Your
Department.” Nursing Management 26.3 (1995): 61-2
Collins, James and Jerry Porras. “Building Your Company’s
Vision.” Harvard Business Review 74.5 (1996): 65
Collins, Jim. Good to Great. New York: HarperCollins
Publishers, 2001. Print
Marzec, Morgan. “Telling the Corporate Story: Vision into
Action.” Journal of Business Strategy 28.1 (2007): 26-36