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Building Your Companys Vision Overview of Key Concepts3
Building Your Companys Vision Overview of Key Concepts3
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
Captures what you stand for and why you exist. Role is to guide and inspire those inside, not to differentiate.
Core Ideology
Envisioned Future
Aspirations
Core Values
Core Purpose
Rarely if ever changes.
Clearly articulated, lofty goal -What the future looks 15+ years out. like when youre successful.
BHAG
Vivid Description
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. Porras; HBR
Key Strategies
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?
Walt Disney
No distrust
Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
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
To mobilize local leaders and their communities in order to identify and address local human needs.
United Way
3M
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 it tangible.
Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
Envisioned Future
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
Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age.
Stanford University (Role-Model BHAG)
Crush Adidas
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 life in a positive way.
Source: Building Your Companys Vision, by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
For more information on vision workshops and other strategy, team building and innovation workshops, please contact: