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
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

Timeless guiding principles. Rarely if ever change.

Core Values

Core Purpose
Rarely if ever changes.

Reason for being.

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?

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

Walt Disney
No distrust

Nurturing and promulgation of wholesome American values

Creativity, dreams and imagination Fanatical attention to detail & consistency

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

To enrich the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Make a Wish Foundation

To solve unsolved problems innovatively

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

3M

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

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

Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age.
Stanford University (Role-Model BHAG)

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

Become the Harvard of the west.

Nike (Common-enemy BHAG)

Crush Adidas

Transform from a industry innovation follower to industry innovation leader

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

Computer Products Company (Internal-Transformation BHAG)

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:

Cindy Diamond Diamond Marketing Solutions / IGNiTE www.ignitenewthinking.com cdiamonds@comcast.net 763-553-2018