Lots of leaders create vision statements. But many of them haven't clearly defined what they hope to accomplish -- they just think it's something that leaders are supposed to do.

As a result, few vision statements actually do much good. In a cynical mood, one might even say that they're hardly worth the paper they're written on.

This article examines the purpose of vision statements; analyzes why so many fail to add value; describes what an effective vision statement looks like; and suggests the right way to go about creating a compelling vision.

The Change Formula

Why do leaders craft vision statements?

It starts with a desire to create an organization that's somehow different from the one that exists today. A vision of the future is intended to drive needed changes.

Consider the "change formula" -- the three essential prerequisites of meaningful change. Vision has a role in all three.

Change Formula

Dissatisfaction with the status quo A clear, safe, compelling destination A viable path from here to there

1. Dissatisfaction with the status quo: Change isn't easy. For most, it's not worth the time, costs, and risks unless it's really necessary. Saying "we're fine, although we could be better" isn't going to motivate anything other than marginal change. The people affected by the change have to believe that while we may not have failed in the past, it's not okay to stay where we are.

2. A clear, safe, compelling destination: Next, people won't jump "from a hot pan into the fire." They need a safe place to jump to -- a clear understanding of the end-state. Beyond safe, that end-state should be positive, even exciting and worth their while.

3. A viable path from here to there: Third, people need to know that their investment in change is going to pay off. They may have developed cynicism as a result of past change initiatives which were much touted but made little difference in their lives. To buy into the change, people need to see a clear and viable path from the present to that end-state.

The Purpose of a Vision

Vision statement are essential to all three components of the change formula.

1. Dissatisfaction with the status quo: To be able to say, "we may not have failed in the past, but now we must change," you need to explain the gaps between the current organization and the future one.

   A vision of the future is the "stretch assignment" that explains why we can't stay here. It creates tough standards by which to measure the gaps.

2. A clear, safe, compelling destination: A vision statement directly fulfills this component. It communicates where we're going, to make people comfortable that the changes will be good for them.

   Beyond just safe, a good vision is compelling. Customers should say, "That's the kind of organization I want to do business with." And staff should say, "That's the organization I want to work with."

   When they do, they'll support the changes. Their support helps justify the needed funding for the changes. It builds credibility so that the enterprise will empower the leadership team to drive those changes. It engenders patience with the time it takes to build something really different and worthwhile. And for staff, it induces loyalty, even if things aren't so great today.

3. A viable path from here to there: To engender trust that the changes will be successful, leaders have to communicate their strategies for implementing change. A good vision is the basis for developing a transformation strategy.

   An organizational strategy is the result of these planning steps (whether done formally or intuitively):

   "Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground."

   Theodore Roosevelt

   1. Vision

   2. Gap assessment

   3. Root cause analysis on those gaps

   4. Definition of systemic changes that address those root causes

   5. Sequencing the systemic changes over time

   Case study on transformation strategy....

In addition to contributing to the change formula, a vision guides each step in a transformation process.

Practical leaders move an organization forward in pragmatic steps, each solving near-term problems and delivering value.

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."

Yogi Berra

Effective leaders don't zigzag. A vision guides the design decisions made at each step in the journey. This ensures that each incremental change adds up to a consistent end-state: the high-performing organization of the future.

Why the Typical Vision is Ineffective

Most vision statements are little more than a sentence or two. They look something like this:

"To be a world-class supplier of products and services that help our clients make gobs of money."

This starts by saying little more than "to be good at our jobs." Then, it speaks to the value the organization hopes to create for customers.

"To be recognized as a leader in quality and value and as a critical component of corporate strategy, to be loved by our clients and staff, and to be showered in accolades and bonus checks."

This is a vision of the rewards (like recognition) that leaders want. But rewards have to be earned. This is not a vision of how the organization will earn such rewards.

End-state: A useful vision describes the end-state (which you control) -- how the future organization will operate -- not the value that the end-state organization will create or the rewards it will get for doing so (both of which others control).

Sure, a sense of worth and glimpse of the rewards (the traditional vision statements as above) may be motivational. But traditional vision statements don't satisfy the change formula.

You can't measure the current state and identify gaps against vague descriptions of value and rewards. It doesn't describe what it will be like to work with the organization. And it's of little practical value during the transformation process.

A vision isn't implementable if it doesn't describe things that staff can control. Unfortunately, many vision statements speak to the wrong things.

Clarity: An effective vision is crystal clear, not open to many different interpretations. Clarity ensures that everybody understands it the same way. This consistency is essential to keeping incremental changes in alignment with the end-state.

Again, conventional vision statements fall short. They speak in vague generalities, not useful images of the future. They lack granularity.

"A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on."

Mis-reporting of quote by Samuel Goldwyn

Thus, they're of little value in guiding the many detailed design decisions along the way.

What a Useful Vision Looks Like

An effective vision statement is a clear, detailed description of the organization of the future. It answers the question:

What exactly would our organization do if it's the best we can envision.

It's a set of visionary expectations -- what various stakeholders want and expect of the organization.

A comprehensive vision covers many kinds of expectations. And it describes how the organization works in detail.

Thus, it may be a few pages long (a far cry from a rallying call or single sentence).

The Themes within a Vision

This multi-page vision statement may be divided into chapters representing "themes" of expectations.

Examples of themes include:

• Relationships with customers
  
• Contribution to enterprise value
  
• Operations (services)
  
• Engineering and architecture (projects)
  
• Security, risk, and continuity
  
• Policies, planning, and compliance
  
• Resource governance and financial management
  
• Organizational structure
  
• Culture
  
• Metrics
  
• People management

For each theme, a few paragraphs describe in detail what the organization will do (not the goals of doing so).

Unifying Design Goal

Together, the themes add up to an organizational operating model. You can't have the different themes going in different directions!

Thus, across all the themes, and the detailed expectations under each, there must a common thread -- a unifying design goal.

What might that common thread be?

The business-within-a-business (BWB) paradigm is the most compelling choice. In the BWB paradigm, every manager thinks and acts like an entrepreneur running a small business. Everbody understands that they exist to deliver products and services to customers inside and outside their organization.

The BWB paradigm brings out the best in people -- the traits of successful entrepreneurs. And as the organization strives to remain competitive, it delivers all that its customers want (and can afford) in the way of both products/services and its style of doing business.

Ways to Create a Vision

Whatever direction your own vision may take, there's a bit of work involved in creating it and harvesting its value.

The first step is listening to customers, bosses, and staff. Ask each what they want from your organization in an ideal world. What would they consider "world class"?

To listen, a leader may personally make the rounds (as one would do when starting a new job). Or there may be more efficient and comprehensive ways to engage many people in providing their input.

Then, an executive must decide the degree of involvement of staff and other stakeholders.

DRAFT	INPUT	COMMUNICATE
Executive	Leadership	All
Executive	Broader	All
Leadership	None	All
Leadership	Broader	All

The first step is drafting the vision statement. The executive could do this alone, or engage his/her leadership team in the drafting process.

The next step is gathering input. This could be from just the leadership team (if the executive drafted the vision), or a broader set of stakeholders (staff, bosses, cutomers).

Finally, the vision is communicated to all stakeholders. Of course, the more people who were involved in its creation, the easier communications gets.

Is It Worth It?

The simple answer is: If you intend to bring about meaningful change in your organization, a clear and comprehensive vision is the best first step.

It gets you buy-in, funding, cooperation, and patience. It motives staff to change. And it provides a consistent end-state that guides decisions along the way.