Let’s talk about the Vision thing.

Executed well, a compelling vision will captivate an audience and guide decision-making for years or even decades to come. 

Strategy is a process for making decisions when the stakes are high, and resources are limited. There are several steps in undertaking that process but a good first step is developing a picture of what your organisation wants to achieve, create or become over the long term. 

Better still if you can describe it vividly so you can effectively share what you see with others, and better again if you can set a small number of tangible goals that help you measure your progress towards those outcomes.

This vivid description of what you want to achieve, create or become over the long term is what strategists refer to as a Vision. 

The authors Collins and Porras’ 1996 Harvard Business Review article, ‘Building your company’s vision,’ is an excellent resource that expands on these concepts and provides a number of examples and case studies.

The value of having a clear and compelling vision is its ability to draw people in and help them to understand the overarching, long-term direction of the organisation. 

Take this example from Japan in the 1950’s.

“We will create products that become pervasive around the world… We will be the first Japanese company to go into the US market and distribute directly… We will succeed with innovations that US companies have failed at – such as the transistor radio…

... Fifty years from now, our brand name will be as well-known as any in the world… and will signify innovation and quality that rival the most innovative companies anywhere… ‘Made in Japan’ will mean something fine, not something shoddy.” 

This was a vision statement crafted by Sony. This vision statement, developed by a company that was at the time a small electronics manufacturer supplying the post-war, Japanese economy with basic products, does a remarkable job of describing with great clarity, all those years ago, the Sony business we know so well today.

Key questions and tests for your vision

Anyone can pull together a set of words that describe an exciting or worthy future. The challenge is to craft the vision that’s just right for your organisation. This involves satisfying three critical tests.

1.  Does it stretch the organisation enough, whilst remaining achievable? 

Collis and Porras tell us that a Vision and its associated goals ‘should be aspirational and long term, with a 50-75% chance of being achieved over a 10-year plus timeframe. It should require extraordinary effort and a little bit of luck.’

In other words, it should be calibrated to your circumstances. Judgement is required to ensure that it provides just enough stretch to fire the imagination but remains achievable enough to ensure leaders can be held accountable for its delivery.

2.  Do your most important stakeholders buy into it?

For a vision to have an enduring impact, it must be understood by those responsible for achieving it.
It must also represent an idea or achievement that is worthy of aspiring to. Involving your most important stakeholders in the development process can be an excellent approach to gaining their buy-in to the end product. 

3.  Will it influence decision-making?

Strategy is all about making decisions and directing resources. The Vision should be a ‘north star’ for your organisation – a clear reference point for your most important strategic decision-making. The Vision should be a central theme in any major decision-making process, with executives seeking a clear explanation of how the decisions they are asked to make, make a tangible contribution to achieving
the vision.

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Every organisation should have a clear vision of its winning future that describes what it is setting out to achieve, create or become over the long term. If you can make it aspirational and achievable, get your stakeholders to buy-in to it, and embed it in your strategic decision-making process, you will have made an important step in your strategy formulation process.

References

Collins, J. and Porras, J. (1996). ‘Building your company’s vision’. Harvard Business Review, September.
https://hbr.org/1996/09/building-your-companys-vision