Communicating direction, distinctive added-value, culture and boundaries: Compelling vision statements, Actionable mission statements and Guiding value statements Draft 2.0 February 8, 2012 Working Paper Herbert A. Marlowe, Jr., Ph.D. The purpose of this guide is to assist the reader to develop effective vision, mission and value statements. Almost all organizations have such statements, but most are of little practical value and rarely justify the time and effort spent in developing them. There can be real value in such statements and they form the basis for ongoing strategy management. All organizations want committed employees who are genuinely striving to do the best for the customer. All organizations want strong and enduring customer relationships that are mutually beneficial. All organizations want to sustain themselves and thrive in the future. All organizations want to develop and maintain a good reputation with the customers, employees, stockholders, stakeholders, etc. Achieving these wants begins with vision statements that are compelling, mission statements that are actionable and values statements that guide actions and decisions. This guide is divided into the following sections: Section 1: The purpose of vision, mission and value statements. This section serves to clarify the various purposes and uses of these statements. Section 2: Characteristics of compelling vision statements, actionable mission statements and guiding values statements. This table delineates the elements of these various statements. Section 3: Features of a Compelling Vision Statement. This narrative discusses the various features of a compelling vision statement. Section 4: Features of an Actionable Mission Statement. This narrative discusses the various features of an actionable mission statement. Section 5: Features of a Guiding Values Statement. This narrative discusses the various features of a guiding values statement. Section 6: Questions which generate key mission, vision and values points. This table lists some questions that can be used to generate the information needed to develop these statements. Section 7: Processes for developing and selecting statements. This narrative presents various approaches to selecting these statements. 1
Section 1: The purpose of vision, mission and value statements. This section serves to clarify the various purposes and uses of these statements. Table 1 summarizes the distinctive purposes of these statements. Table 1: Purpose of Vision, Mission and Core Values Statements This table details the multiple purposes of vision, mission and values statements. Purpose of the vision Purpose of the mission Purpose of the values statement statement statement Communicate a desired future state. Communicate the end result of an organization s effort. Drive a strategic plan; organizational change effort. Communicate the ideal toward which the organization is striving. Communicate what the organization will do to achieve the vision. Communicate the valueadded products and services the organization will provide for their customers. Provide a basis for decisions about whether current or future work is a fit with the organization. Communicate what distinguishes the organization from those in a similar business. Communicate significant behaviors and attitudes that should be exemplified during the process of achieving the vision. Communicate the boundaries within which the daily work of the organization will occur. Provide a basis for identifying behaviors which fall outside the expected or accepted. Communicate the culture which will characterize the organization as it achieves the vision. Create a distinctive and shared identity. Provide a basis for decisions about relationships within and without the company. 2
Section 2: Characteristics of compelling vision statements, actionable mission statements and guiding values statements. Table 2 delineates the elements of these various statements. Section 2: Characteristics of Compelling vision statements, actionable mission statements and guiding values statements A compelling vision statement should An actionable mission statement should: A guiding values statement should Be exciting Create pull Be challenging Inspire Motivate Be memorable Have high communication value, i.e. create a strong image Communicate a worthwhile legacy Communicate a sense of that one is part of something greater Communicate what it is we will do Communicate why we are doing what we do Communicate how we will do it differently Communicate who we are doing it for Communicate the results of doing it Be believable Identify desired behavior Communicate undesirable behavior Communicate what is truly important to the company Communicate the reputation the company wants to build Communicate the culture the company wants to build Provide a standard against which organizational behavior can be judged Section 3: Features of a Compelling Vision Statement It should excite and challenge. A compelling vision statement should communicate a future that people want to help create and that will call forth from them their best work. It should create the pull that brings people to the table. The vision itself should inspire and tap into the internal motivations of those who must contribute to it. It should be memorable. A compelling vision statement should communicate a strong image of the future. While the details will be developed during the process, the vision statement should communicate a shared image which is big picture clear. 3
It should be worthwhile. Achieving a vision requires significant contribution and effort from all parties. It must be worth this effort. There must be enough payoff in the end to justify the work that will be required. This payoff may be a legacy, the intrinsic rewards of contributing to something greater than oneself and/or the growth that comes from achieving a challenging goal. Section 4: Features of an Actionable Mission Statement. It should be useful. It actually helps in making decisions, guiding organizational actions. Some of the following features describe the potential usefulness of an actionable mission statement. It should foster focus and boundaries. A useful mission statement is one which helps you determine whether to say yes or no to new opportunities. It should provide a standard against which to judge the activities of the organization. Does this program, project, strategy, etc keep us on mission or does it not? A useful mission statement helps the organization make consistent decisions. A useful mission statement should identify your core business or competency. For example, if the mission statement of the railroads had been we transport people and goods efficiently and effectively they might have responded to trucking and air transport differently than they did. A useful mission statement helps you see opportunity. When you put the means in a mission statement, you limit yourself. If for example, we change the above mission statement to we transport people and goods efficiently and effectively by rail we will limit our view of business opportunity. It should foster identity. A useful mission statement lets everyone know who you are and how you differ from the rest of the world. It should be meaningful enough to be memorable. This means it cannot be unduly long as any organizational member, board or employee, should be able to state it when asked. When the target audience is larger than these groups, then tag lines consistent with the mission should be short and memorable enough that the target audience gets it It should meet our human need for purpose. It should communicate why we do what we do. It should help members see that we are working for something larger than ourselves and a paycheck. It should communicate the targets or objects of the mission. To whom is this mission directed? If there are multiple targets (customers, employees, visitors, businesses, residents, etc), these should be specified. It should be enduring. Board members come and go as do staff. Strategies shift as do specific goals and objectives. But the mission statement should be such a fundamental statement of what the organization is about that changing it substantively truly reflects a significant organizational redirection. 4
Section 5: Features of a Guiding Values Statement. It must be believable. If the values statement is so contradictory to actual values in practice that employees smirk when they read it, then it will not work as a values statement. If this is the case, and the leadership believes these values need to be instilled, then a substantive values and culture change intervention should occur. It should communicate high level behavioral boundaries. It should help employees and other associates understand the desired behaviors at a high level and by definition what behaviors are not desired. Using the word integrity as an example it communicates that the organization wants to act in an honest and trustworthy manner. Therefore it doesn t want to lie and cheat. That is the principle which must be applied over and over again. It is the standard against which specific actions or behaviors will be judged. It should communicate how the company wishes to be and be seen as. It is in acting out the values that the reputation of the firm is built. The values statement answers the question, what reputation do we want to have? It should communicate the culture the organization is seeking to keep or build. The organization s culture is it values and norms in practice. The culture is an actual representation of what is valued, rewarded, encouraged. The culture guides acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Section 6: Questions which generate key mission, vision and values points. Table 3 lists some questions that can be used to generate the information needed to develop these statements. Table 3: Questions to help develop vision, mission and value statements These questions, used singly or in combination, are designed to assist a group to think through the concepts, ideas and words that are important to them. The answers supply the raw data from which vision, mission and value statements can be crafted. Vision Statement Mission statement Values statements What do we want to be Why do we exist? What is important to us? recognized for? What position do we want to hold in our field? What opportunities do we want to seize? What is our function? What is our purpose? Based on our behaviors, what are our values? Are those the values we want to emphasize in the future? How do we want people to treat each other in the organization? 5
How do we want to distinguish ourselves? What will be different as a result of this effort? If we continue on our current course, where will we be in years? Do we want that? What is energizing? What possibility excites you? What do others think we could contribute that we aren t contributing today? What could we contribute that we aren t contributing today? What would we like to be known for? How do we want to differ from our competitors? How must we fundamentally change our business? What we did in the past that worked that we aren t doing today? What legacy do we want to leave? What do we want to become when we grow up? What are our dreams and hopes for the future? What are our dreams and hopes for this organization? What are our highest aspirations for this company? How will we be unique and different in years? What do we do differently than others in our business? What is the value we want to add to the products and services we produce that others also produce? What do others think we contribute? What are we known for? How do we differ from our competitors? From those who provide similar services and products? What is the one thing we must never take our eye off of? Why do we exist? What is our purpose? Who are we and for what are we known? What are we trying to accomplish? How do our customers see us? What are we doing for them? What is the one thing we must never take our eyes off of? How do we want to treat our customers and stakeholders? What kind of organizational culture do we want? What reputation do we want? What are we passionate about? What behaviors do we encourage in our policies and procedures? For us, success is? What do our priorities tell us about what we value? What do our allocation of resources (time/people/dollars) tell us about what is really important to us? What do vendors say our values are? 6
What are the opportunities we must seize? How must we fundamentally change how we do business? What could really excite and turn on our workforce? The real trophy for us would be? What is our special calling? At the core of what we do, what business are we really in? How are we different from our competitors? What do customers say our values are? What makes employees most proud/most embarrassed to work here? Section 7: Developing and selecting statements The process of creating mission, vision or value statements is often highly negative and unproductive, often to the point that many would rather avoid the strategic planning process altogether than have to spend time in these discussions. There are three reasons why mission writing etc has developed such a negative perception: 1. Developing these statements occurs too early in the process. While a deductive model would hold that these statements set the context from which goals are derived, mission, vision, and value statements at the start of a strategic planning process are too abstract and lack the context and mutual understanding that is generated by discussion of environmental and organizational context, challenges and opportunities. 2. Failure to take the time to define and illustrate terms. Often the terms mission, vision and value are understood as synonymous. Depending upon the organizational experiences of participants they may be used to extremely lengthy statements or brief statements. As a result of these different experiences, participants can come to the process with vastly different understandings and expectations. 3. Attempting to begin with a blank slate and group-write as a whole. Without a model to work from, or trying to meld a wide range of expression and writing styles without some agreement on the core message, regardless of how it is expressed, is usually a recipe for disaster. 4. Trying to fit every favored word into the statement. It is not uncommon that individuals have words or phrases that are highly meaningful to them and they believe should be expressed in formal statements about vision, mission and values. The problem is that the result can be a laundry list of multiple features that provide no guidance or focus for the organization. Statements of this type add little value. What then are more productive and effective techniques for developing statements of this type. 1. First, view statement development as a process that will occur throughout the strategic planning process and be finalized at the conclusion of the project. Rather than view development as a specific events, view it as the culmination of a discussion about the future, about purpose, about added value. 2. Ask purpose, added value oriented and key message questions during the environmental scanning and analysis phases. 7
3. Research examples from other similar entities. 4. Develop a positioning statement that captures the full range of the organization s thinking about its future, how it will add value, the values it wants to emphasize and practice. The positioning statement provides a context for vision, mission and value statements while enabling the avoid the error of trying to fit every favored word. Writing the positioning statements enables the writer to identify the common or shared themes and perspectives from the client and key stakeholders. 5. Test how the existing statement needs to be modified. This clarifies either what is missing for the client or what no longer seems relevant. 6. Establish either a small (3 person or so) writing team of staff skilled in communications and messaging that will draw upon the findings of items 2, 3, 4 and 5 or have the consultant provide this service. 7. Present a proposed statement as part of the final draft presentation of the plan. 8