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When John F. Kennedy said that the UnitedStates would put a man on the Moon, andbring him safely back before the end of the1960’s, he presented a strong, unifying vision.I was only six years old at the time of the firstMoon landing, but I still remember the awe Ifelt when I saw Neil Armstrong standing onthe Moon. It was the greatest adventure man-kind has embarked upon to date, and it beganwith a vision statement.The vision of a man on the Moon energizedthe floundering U.S. space program, but that isonly a small part of whatit accomplished.The vision united a nation, and itdrove the development of technologies neces-sary to accomplish the goal, including developinglightweight electronics.NASA did not invent the Integrated Circuit (IC),but the organization was an early adopter, and itfunded research work at MIT, and spurred theimagination of scientists and engineers.NASA has also been a driving force in the devel-opment of satellites, which are necessary for ourmodern communications systems. Would theyhave been able to do this without the prestige,power and energy generated by the Apollo spaceprogram? Maybe, but I believe not.More importantly, our paradigms, the ideas wehave about how our world works would bequite different.
The BusinessStrategy NewsletterIssue 1-2009
The Tempo! newsletter contains supportingmaterial for Tempo!, a business strategybook written by Henrik MårtenssonThe Tempo! newsletter is published byHM MediaTech.Email:
self@henrikmartensson.orgPhone:
+46 708 56 23 65Twitter:
@KallokainSkype:
Would we view the world in quite the sameway without images like this famous photofrom Apollo 17:Visions are as important to business organiza-tions as they are to nations. Unity and sense of mission are incredibly important, especially inuncertain times.Vision provides guidance. Vision encourages anorganization to grow in new directions.For example, Honda defines itself as a
mobility company
, not a car or motorcycle manufac-turer. This has enabled Honda to diversify intobuilding aircrafts, developing exoskeletons forelderly people, and creating one of the world’smost advanced humanoid robots, ASIMO.Why then, are most corporate vision and mis-sion statements so bland? A vision statement issupposed to inspire, and yet, most companieshave vision statements that are very similar,and of little interest to anyone but C-level ex-ecutives, and perhaps the odd accountant ortwo.Many vision and mission statements are filledwith phrases like “market leader” and “providecustomer value”, or “products of the highestquality”. Frankly, most such statements aretripe. They have no substance. They inspire noone, and have little or no effect on how theorganization conducts its business. Nor arethey a useful framework for developing strate-gies for the future.There are several reasons for companies havingbland, impotent vision and mission statements:1.Developing vision and mission statementstake time. C-level managers are loath tospend the time necessary. They are oftenmore focused on dealing with issues that areurgent, rather than issues that are truly im-portant.2.Few people, C-level or not, know where tostart. Both the purposes and the definitionsmay be unclear. In many corporate culturesadmitting to not knowing something is seenas exposing a vulnerability. So, a bunch of C-
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"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and re- turning him back safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more im- pressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." — John F. Kennedy
level executives, all equally uncertain andconfused, sit together, and focus on notrevealing that they do not know how tocreate mission and vision statements,rather than on learning how to do it.3.Developing a vision requires a great deal of introspection. It is important to developtrue self-awareness, not only to understandones own motivations, but to take chargeof them, and even change them. Whilemost people are
able
to do this, it doesrequire effort, and may take them far awayfrom their personal comfort zone. Thus,many people simply choose not to makethe effort.4.Few C-level executives understand the im-portance of involving the entire organiza-tion in developing the vision and the mis-sion. Thus, the statements fail to take theviews of other stakeholders, including theorganization’s employees, into account.5.Few people have a process for developingvision and mission statements.
What Vision and Mission Statements Are
A good vision statement expresses a compellingvision about the future. Achieving the vision doesnot have to be feasible, but it does have to bedesirable.A common trap is to believe the vision has to bespecifically about what the organization wishesto become. That is unnecessarily limiting. Themost powerful visions describe a world that isbetter in some way, not only for the organizationand its members, but for
other people
.A mission statement describes how the organi-zation will achieve the vision.To be compelling, a vision statement must touchthe inner core of people, the center of their be-ing. There are many things we can build oursense of identity and self-worth on: Family,spouse, children, work, money, possessions,
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Coca-Cola Vision Statement
To achieve sustainable growth, we have estab-lished a vision with clear goals.
Profit
: Maximizing return to shareownerswhile being mindful of our overall responsibili-ties.
People
: Being a great place to work wherepeople are inspired to be the best they canbe.
Portfolio
: Bringing to the world a portfolioof beverage brands that anticipate and satisfypeoples; desires and needs.
Partners
: Nurturing a winning network of partners and building mutual loyalty.Planet: Being a responsible global citizen thatmakes a difference.
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