Chapter 13

Creating Vision and Strategic

Direction

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Chapter Objectives
Explain the relationship among vision, mission,
strategy, and implementation mechanisms.
Create your personal leadership vision.
Use the common themes of powerful visions in
your life and work.
Understand how leaders formulate and implement
strategy.
Apply the elements of effective strategy.

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Strategic Leadership

The ability to anticipate and

envision the future, maintain
flexibility, think strategically,
and initiate changes that will
create a competitive
advantage for the
organization in the future

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Ex. 13.1 The Domain of Strategic
Leadership

Vision

Mission

Strategy

Architecture for alignment and

implementation
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Vision

An attractive, ideal future that is

credible yet not readily
available

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 Ex. 13.2 Examples of Brief Vision
Statements (selected)
Motorola
Become the premier company in the world
Ritz-Carlton (Amelia Island) Engineering Dept.
Where no hotel has gone before – free of all defects
Johnson Controls Inc.
Continually exceed our customers’ increasing
expectations
New York City Transit
No graffiti
Egon Zehnder
Be the worldwide leader in executive search

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Ex. 13.3 The Nature
of the Vision

Vision

d
sire
ure de
fut rd a
a
tow
g
vin
Mo

Current Staying the course

reality

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Common Themes of Vision
Vision has broad appeal
Vision deals with change
Vision encourages faith and hope
Vision reflects high ideals
Vision defines the destination and the
journey

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Mission
The organization’s core broad
purpose and reason for
existence

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Strategic Management
Strategic Management
The set of decisions and actions used to
formulate and implement specific strategies that
will achieve a competitively superior fit between
the organization and its environment so as to
achieve organization goals
Strategy
The general plan of action that describes
resource allocation and other activities for
dealing with the environment and helping the
organization attain its goals
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Core Competence

Something the
organization does
extremely well in
comparison to competitors

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Synergy and Value

Synergy: the interaction of

organizational parts to produce a
joint effect that is greater than the
sum of the parts

Value: the combination of

benefits received and costs paid
by the customer

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 Strategy Formulation and
Implementation
Strategy Formulation
The integrating knowledge of the environment,
vision, and mission with the core competence in
such a way as to achieve synergy and create
customer value
Strategy Implementation
Putting strategy into action by adjusting various
parts of the organization and directing
resources to accomplish strategic goals

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 Ex. 13.7 Making Strategic
Decisions
Ease of Implementation

Hard Easy
High Impact, Hard to High Impact, Easy to
Implement. Implement.
High Major changes, but with Simple changes that have
potential for high payoff high strategic impact –
take action here first
Strategic
Impact
Low Impact, Hard to Low Impact, Easy to
Implement. Implement.
Difficult changes with little Incremental
Low or no potential for payoff – improvements, “small
avoid this category wins;” pursue for symbolic
value of success

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 Ex. 13.8 Linking Strategic Vision
and Strategic Action

High
The Dreamer The Effective Leader
Vision
The Uninvolved The Doer
Low
Low High

Action

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