Building Your Companys

Vision

A recap of the HBR article written by James C. Collins and Jerry

Summarized and editorialized by

Cindy Diamond

Vision Workshop
Why do this?
Creates a structure around which to build your priorities and
actions and guides those priorities and actions
Helps establish alignment around who you are and where you
are going
Guides your selection of partners and others selection of you
(including partners, employees, investors/donors)
Provides inspiration and clarity
Opens up a new possibilities and ideas stretches the
imagination and motivates people to rethink what is possible

Key Components
Vision
Core Ideology
Captures what you stand for and why you exist.
Role is to guide and inspire those inside,
not to differentiate.

Envisioned Future
Aspirations

BHAG
Purpose
Core Values Core
Reason for being. Clearly articulated,

Timeless guiding principles.

Rarely if ever changes.
Rarely if ever change.

Vivid
Description

lofty goal -What the future looks

15+ years out. like when youre successful.

Key Strategies
How will we achieve the BHAG within the context of our core ideology?
Source: Building Your Companys
Vision, by James C. Collins and Jerry I.

Core Ideology

You do not create or set core ideology. You discover core

ideology.

You understand it by looking inside.

Ideology must be authentic. You cannot fake it.

It must be meaningful and inspirational only to people inside; it

need not be exciting to outsiders or differentiating vs. others.

The point is not to create a perfect statement but to gain a deep

understanding of your core values and purpose; which can then
be expressed in a multitude of ways.

Once you are clear about the core ideology, you should feel free
to change absolutely anything is not part of it. If its not core, its
up for change!
Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR

Core Values
Guiding principles that already exist but may not be articulated; ask:
what core values do we truly and passionately hold?
3-5 essential and enduring tenets (do not change)
Require no external justification; they have intrinsic value and
importance to those inside (goal is to guide and inspire, not to
differentiate)
Must be authentic you can not fake it

Sharei Chesed Synagogue

Accepting and
respecting of all
Love your neighbor as
yourself
Inspiration through
learning and teaching
Accountability to
ourselves, our
synagogue and our
communities

Sony

Elevation of the
Japanese culture and
national status
Being a pioneer not
following others,
doing the impossible
Encouraging
individual ability and
creativity

Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR

Walt Disney
No cynicism
Nurturing and
promulgation of
wholesome American
values
Creativity, dreams and
imagination
Fanatical attention to
detail & consistency

Core Purpose
Articulates your reason for being
Provides inspiration and direction for doing the work
Should not change through time and circumstances
Never truly completed a guiding star on the horizon
United Way
To mobilize local leaders and
their communities in order
to identify and address local
human needs.
Sharei Chesed Synagogue
To share and experience
the joys and comforts of
Judaism in a friendly place
where all feel welcome.

Make a Wish Foundation

To enrich the lives of children
with life-threatening medical
conditions.
3M
To solve unsolved problems
innovatively
Lost Arrow Corporation
To be a role model and a
tool for social change.
Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR

Core Purpose Criteria

States your organizations reason for
begin
Provides inspiration and direction for
doing the work
Timeless
Never truly completed
Not a statement of core competence
Doesnt have to be differentiating

Envisioned Future

Consists of a 10-to-30 year audacious goal plus vivid

descriptions of what it would be like to achieve the goal.
BHAG Big Hairy Audacious Goal
The goal is a huge challenge, akin to climbing Mt.
Everest.
It is clear and compelling; it serves as a unifying focal
point of effort, and acts as a catalyst for team spirit.
Organizations may have many BHAGs at different levels
operating at the same time but must have a vision-level
BHAG that applies to the entire organization.
Requires thinking beyond current capabilities and the
current environment.
A BHAG should require extraordinary effort and perhaps
a little luck.
Vivid Description
Think of it as translating the vision of the future from
words into pictures, of creating an image people can
carry around in their heads to make
itBuilding
tangible.
Source:
Your Companys
Vision, by James C. Collins and Jerry I.

Big Hairy Audacious Goal

(BHAG)
A clearly articulated goal with a clear finish line
Achievable within a specific timeframe (10-30 years)
15% knowledge of how, 50%-70% sure we can
Tangible, energizing, highly focused people get it right away

Boeing, 1950 (Target BHAG can be qualitative or quantitative)

Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world
into the jet age.
Stanford University (Role-Model BHAG)
Become the Harvard of the west.
Nike (Common-enemy BHAG)
Crush Adidas
Computer Products Company (Internal-Transformation BHAG)
Transform from a industry innovation follower to industry innovation
leader

Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by

James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR

Vivid Description
A vibrant, engaging and specific description of what it will be like
to achieve the BHAG
Makes the BHAG tangible in peoples minds
Passion, emotion and conviction are essential parts of the
description
Creative process
Example Division of product company with BHAG of
becoming one of the most sought-after divisions in the
company:
We will be respected and admired by our peers . . . Our solutions will be
actively sought by the other divisions, who will achieve significant success in
the marketplace largely become of our technical contributions. . . We will
have pride in ourselves. . . The best up-and-coming people in the company
will seek to work in our division. . . People will give unsolicited feedback that
they love what they are doing. . . Our own people will walk on the balls of
their feet. . . They will willingly work hard because they want to. . .Both
employees and customers will feel that our division has contributed to their
Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by
life in a positive way.
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR

For more information on vision workshops and

other strategy, team building and innovation
workshops, please contact:
Cindy Diamond
Diamond Marketing Solutions / IGNiTE
www.ignitenewthinking.com
cdiamonds@comcast.net
763-553-2018