MINI WORKSHOP – ULTRA FAST STRATEGIC PLANNING

MISION
What Is a Mission Statement?

David Packard captured the essence of mission very well in a 1960 speech to Hewlett-Packard employees:
“A group of people get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so they are able to
accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately — they make a contribution
to society, . . . do something which is of value.” The mission attempts to capture the contribution and value
that Packard so eloquently describes, illuminating the core purpose that draws us to our work and inspires
our very best.

Unlike strategies and goals, which may be achieved over time, you never really fulfill your mission. It acts
as a beacon for your work, constantly pursued but never quite reached. Consider your mission to be the
compass by which you guide your organization. In today’s hectic (to put it very euphemistically) business
world, you need a star to steer by and your mission should provide just that.

Developing Your Mission Statement

A very effective method for developing your mission is based on a concept known as the “5 Whys”
developed by Collins and Porras. Start with a descriptive statement, such as “We make X products or
deliver Y services.” Then ask: “Why is this important?” five times. A few “whys” into this exercise, and
you’ll begin to see your true mission emerging. The “5 Whys” forces us to abstract to different levels,
thereby leaving behind the myriad specific characteristics of our organizational being and discovering our
true meaning. Exhibit 3.2 shares the mission statements of a number of organizations.

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 VALUES
What Are Values?

Values are the timeless principles that guide an organization. They represent the deeply held beliefs within
the organization and are demonstrated through the day-to-day behaviors of all employees. An
organization’s values make an open proclamation about how it expects everyone to behave. In Built to
Last, authors Collins and Porras suggest that visionary organizations decide for themselves what values to
hold, independent of the current environment, competitive requirements, or management fads. They
quote former Johnson & Johnson CEO Ralph Larsen on values:

“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.”

“What we stand for” is an important part of this quote. No universal set of right or wrong values exists;
instead, each organization must determine or discover the core values that comprise its essence and hold
importance to those within it.

Establishing Values

Author and consultant Jim Collins has developed a number of questions you can use to identify the core
values in your organization:

● What core values do you bring to work—values you hold to be so fundamental that you would hold
them regardless of whether they were rewarded or not? 

● How would you describe to your loved ones the core values you stand for in your work and that you
hope they stand for in their working lives? 

● If you awoke tomorrow morning with enough money to retire for the rest of your life, would you
continue to hold on to these core values? 

● Perhaps most important, can you envision these values being as valid 100 years from now as they are
today? 

● Would you want the organization to continue to hold these values, even if at some point one or more
of them became a competitive disadvantage? 

● If you were to start a new organization tomorrow in a different line of work, what core values would
you build into the new organization regardless of its activities? 


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 VISION

What Is a Vision Statement?

Based on that mission and those values, we now want to create a statement that defines where we want
to go in the future. The vision statement does just that. The vision signifies the critical transition from the
unwavering mission and core values to the spirited and dynamic world of strategy.

A vision statement provides a word picture of what the organization intends ultimately to become—which
may be 5, 10, or 15 years in the future. This statement should not be abstract; it should contain as concrete
a picture of the desired state as possible and also provide the basis for formulating strategies and
objectives. A powerful vision provides everyone in the organization with a shared mental framework that
helps give form to the often abstract future that lies before us.

Vision always follows mission (purpose) and values. A vision without a mission is simply wishful thinking,
not linked to anything enduring. Typical elements in a vision statement include the desired scope of
business activities, how the corporation will be viewed by its stakeholders (customers, employees,
suppliers, regulators, etc.), areas of leadership or distinctive competence, and strongly held values.

Do You Need a Vision Statement?

The power of a shared vision that is lived by all employees of the organization can provide a significant
motivational force. John Kotter notes three important purposes served by a vision during a change process
—and remember, the Balanced Scorecard is first and foremost an instrument of change:

1. By clarifying the general direction for change, the vision simplifies hundreds or thousands of more
detailed decisions. 

2. The vision motivates people to take action in the right direction, even if the initial steps are
personally painful. 

3. Actions of different people throughout the organization are coordinated in a fast and efficient
way based on the vision statement. 


Regardless of the size of your organization, a skillfully created vision statement not only describes what
you’re attempting to accomplish but will serve to inspire all employees to join you in meeting the
challenges that lie ahead. Ralph Norris of ASB Bank suggests: “It’s a lot easier to hold a steady course in a
volatile and uncertain market if the company has a clear corporate vision. I think every organization should
have a vision of where it’s going— otherwise anywhere will do.”

Effective Vision Statements

● Concise. If everyone in your organization is expected to act and make decisions based on the vision, the
least you can do is create something that is simple and memorable. Consider it your organizational
campaign slogan for the future.

● Consistent with mission and values. Your vision is a further translation of your mission (why you exist)
and the values of underlying importance to your organization. If your mission suggests solving problems
and one of your core values is constant innovation, we would expect to see a reference to innovation in

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your vision statement.

● Verifiable. Who within your organization will be able to determine exactly when you became “world
class, leading edge, or top quality”? Write your vision statement so that you’ll know when you’ve achieved
it. While mission and values won’t change, we would expect the vision to change since it is written for a
finite period of time.


● Feasible. The vision shouldn’t be the collective dreams of senior management; it must be grounded
solidly in reality. To ensure this is the case, you must possess a clear understanding of your business, its
markets, competitors, and emerging trends. 


● Inspirational. The vision statement should not only guide but also arouse the collective passion of all
employees. To be inspirational, the vision must first be understandable to every conceivable audience
from the boardroom to the shop floor. Throw away the thesaurus for this exercise and focus instead on
your deep knowledge of the business to compose a meaningful statement for all involved. 


Developing Your Vision Statement

Two techniques:

1. Executive interviews.

Typical questions may include:

● Where and why have we been successful in the past? 


● Where have we failed in the past? 

● What makes us unique as an organization? 

● Why should we be proud of our organization? 

● What trends, innovations, and dynamics are currently changing our marketplace? 

● What do our customers expect from us? Our shareholders? Our employees? 

● What are our greatest attributes and competencies as an organization? 

● Where do you see our organization in 3 years? 5 years? 10 years? 

● How will our organization have changed during that time period? 

● How do we sustain our success? 


2. Back-to-the-future visioning.

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 STRATEGY
What Is Strategy?

The difficulty with defining strategy is that it has different meanings for different people and
organizations. Rather than focus on a stifling definition of this nebulous term, let’s look at some
of the key principles of strategy:

● Different activities. Strategy is about choosing a different set of activities from your rivals, the
pursuit of which leads to a unique and valuable position in the market. If everyone were to pursue
the same activities, then differentiation would be based purely on operational effectiveness.

● Trade-offs. Effective strategies demand trade-offs in competition. Strategy is more about the
choice of what not to do than what to do. Organizations cannot compete effectively by
attempting to be everything to every- body. The entire organization must be aligned around what
you choose to do and create value from that strategic position.


● Fit. The activities chosen must fit one another for sustainable success. Peter Drucker in his
“Theory of the Business” suggests that our assumptions about the business must fit one another
to produce a valid theory. Activities are the same; they must produce an integrated whole.


● Continuity. While major structural changes in the industry could lead to a change in strategies,
generally strategies should not be constantly reinvented. The strategy crystallizes your thinking
on basic issues, such as how you will offer customer value and to what customers. This direction
needs to be clear to both internal (employees) and external (customers) constituents. Changes
may bring about new opportunities that can be assimilated into the current strategy—new
technologies, for example. 


● Various thought processes. Strategy involves conceptual as well as analytical exercises. As the
Mintzberg quote at the beginning of this section reminds us, strategy involves not only the
detailed analysis of complex data but also broad conceptual knowledge of the company, industry,
market, and so on.

The problem is not one of developing a strategy; numerous options are available for that task, as
we saw in the previous section. The fundamental issue is one of implementation: translating the
strategy into terms that everyone understands and thereby bringing focus to their day-to-day
actions.

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 STRATEGIC PLANNING AND BALANCED SCORECARD

● A mission defines the core purpose of the organization — why it exists. The mission captures the
contribution and value an organization wishes to deliver to humankind and provides a star to steer
by in our turbulent world. An effective mission may be developed using the “5 Whys” technique and
should inspire change, be easily understood and communicated, and be long-term in nature. 


● The Balanced Scorecard allows an organization to translate its mission into concrete objectives
that align all employees. To provide effective direction, the measures on a Balanced Scorecard must
reflect the aspirations denoted in the mission statement. 


● Values represent the deeply held beliefs within the organization and the timeless principles it uses
to guide decision making. Values are often reflective of the personal beliefs emanating from a strong
CEO or leader. We often associate positive values with the common good — doing good for others
while achieving organizational goals. Several organizations, such as Disney, Marriott, and Tom’s of
Maine, have proven that profits and societal contributions are not in conflict and use their values to
derive a competitive advantage. 


● The Balanced Scorecard provides organizations with a means of evaluating the alignment of values
throughout the organization. The Scorecard may also be used to track the extent to which an
organization is living its stated values. 


● The vision signifies our transition from the timeless mission and values to the dynamic and often
messy world of strategy. The vision provides a word picture of what the organization ultimately
intends to become. While the need for a vision statement has been questioned, most organizations
agree it provides a critical enabler by clarifying direction, motivating action, and coordinating efforts.


● Effective visions appeal to all stakeholders, align with mission and values, and are concise,
verifiable, feasible, and inspirational. Vision statements may be created through interviewing of
senior executives or by leading group “visioning” exercises designed to enlist the full involvement of
your team. The vision statement balances the interest of multiple stakeholders in describing how the
organization will create future value. The role of the Scorecard is to capture the correct mix of
competencies, processes, and customer value propositions that lead to your desired financial future.

● The study of business strategy has evolved rapidly over the past four decades, with numerous
schools of thought emerging to proclaim the power of their insights. Effective strategy making
involves combining a different set of activities from your rivals to produce value for customers.

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● Using the Balanced Scorecard, organizations have a great opportunity to beat the odds of effective
execution by translating their strategy into its component parts throughout the four perspectives.
Strategy is then demystified as employees from across the organization are able to focus on the
strategic elements they influence.