The challenge for businesses is that there in the ideal outcome there is no end – an even greater cause of discomfort when it comes to planning your life! A vision statement isn’t always about a final destination, more the furthest point we can feasibly conceive. Depending on the rate of change and what is known, this is most likely 3 to 5 years out. A vision statement describes the ideal, but achievable, situation at this future point.

Vision Statement

Creating a picture of the desired future distils our hopes and sets them in a practicable context. There will be some hard constraints or specific beliefs that shape our view of this future. Most business management teams have strong opinions about where their industry is headed, and what the company’s place is in that industry. This provides a skeleton for the vision, that can then be fleshed out with relevant detail. Where is the world going, from your perspective?

Placing Your Bets

These opinions and beliefs are the basis of ‘the big bets’ you have to place to be successful. Right now, in the software and communications industry, there is a huge deal of uncertainty. These times of change are the best moments to place these ‘big bets’, if you can call the changes, you’ll come out ahead.

Not everyone will come up with the right answers. That means there will be winners and there will be losers, and you will have to make adjustments. In business, as in life, we don’t always get it right first time, but we still take our best shot. Remember, no vision is the default ‘do nothing’ position, and it is a losing one.

With the economy in the US on the turn, and uncertainty in the economy, having a strong vision is key to getting through. In the same way, a strong personal vision gets you through tough times and helps to hold you true to your beliefs.

Somewhere to Head to

A vision statement captures this view of the future and documents your preferred place in it. Just as importantly, it acts as a reference to re-evaluate your core beliefs with over time. This works just as well at a personal level as it does at a company level.

To use a sailing term, vision provides a ‘point to steer’. However the tides and storms may push, you keep on adjusting course towards that point. It may not be the ultimate and final destination, but it is the course for right now. Once you get to it, or perhaps just near to it, you may choose to switch to a new course for the next section of the journey. This is the way that a ship charts its course as it tacks against the wind.

Once the vision is determined, the mission will fall in to place.

Next, Part III – the mission statement…

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• Where Are You Going? Vision, Mission and Values – Part I
• Mission Vision and Value – On Purpose
• More on the Death of Free – Marketing
• Three Reasons Free Will Eat Itself
• Where Are You Going? Vision, Mission and Values – Part IV – Values

Serendipity is putting mission and strategy in the middle of my world. They are curiously emotive terms, dividing people into either cynics or firm believers in a single breath.

My passion for strategic planning has caused me to dig into these topics many times over the years. I firmly believe that you get the best results by being focussed, and by playing for the long term. Taking short cuts and only acting tactically results in burn outs and blow ups. This series of posts walks through a framework based on vision, mission and values, exploring how they are constructed and how they function.

Is Mission a Dirty Word?

The ‘mission’ word, like the ‘strategy’ word, is often abused these days. Recently I heard someone say “we have a strategy of handing out leaflets”. That isn’t a strategy. It is doing things. Doing things is valid, but don’t be fooled into thinking that doing things is the same as having a strategy. Herb Kelleher, of Southwest Airlines, once said “We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things” – that probably says a lot about the airline industry. To be fair, Kelleher’s preceding words were “‘Strategy’ overrated, simply ‘doin’ stuff” underrated”, and I’d agree with the sentiment. All strategy and no doing is not going to get you far, but neither will doing with no strategy. The majority of people and small businesses don’t have a mission statement, and so end up all ‘doin’ and no strategy. Big businesses, in contrast, often end up all strategy and little doing. To be effective, you need a foot firmly in each camp.

Writing off the Mission

A strategy is the series of plans carried out to achieve the mission. Many people don’t like the idea of having a formalised, written ‘mission statement’ and see them as nasty, cheesy things. Good mission statements are actually exciting, motivating and empowering. Sorry to drag films into it, but if you aren’t convinced about the power of mission, think about great spy film heroes, think Mission Impossible II or James Bond. But this isn’t the stuff of fiction, studies have revealed strong links between clearly written mission statements and success. If you want to get to ‘mission accomplished’ you need one foot in the doing camp, and one foot in the strategy camp

Don’t Waste Any Time

Mission gives purpose to how time is spent. It guides actions and informs plans. If you haven’t got a mission, you can’t have a strategy, and if you haven’t got a strategy, then you are just ‘doing stuff’. There is much more to life and business than spontaneous actions, driven by life’s random events. Writing down things down flushes out differences of opinion. In the case of personal mission statements, it can surface internal conflicts. These hidden tensions hold up progress and waste valuable time.

When mission statements are implicit, people often believe that everyone is on the same page. That belief is misplaced. The process of writing thoughts down makes things explicit and concrete, enabling clarification and debate. Only then do the hidden conflicts surface – sometimes to the great consternation of those involved. People realise that there are different things in different people’s heads, at different times. Writing things down crystallises thinking and is the first step to resolving these conflicts and creating consistency.

One Step At a Time

Getting to a mission statement and building out a strategy is a process. All it requires is a few simple steps and the upfront investment of some time. Are you ready to accept your mission?

In part II, what is vision, and why do you need it?

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Later, as I worked across different countries, went to places and met people, I realised how important history is, even in business. In the IT world things change fast, but a countries laws and biases change slowly. They impact on how products are marketed and sold, and what people do with them. People’s history shapes their world view, and how they adopt technology.

The great leaders I have met consistently had a good knowledge of history. How is your history? Do you have a sense of personal history, family history and national history? They are important in understanding ourselves, just as much as the technologies around us. For those of us steeped in Social Media, Web 2.0 and Unified Communications, yesterday is too easily forgotten in the excitement about tomorrow.

At a personal level, having a good sense of history provides a strong psychological grounding, which is why Stephen’s exercise of writing down his personal history struck me. It can also give you a good sense of your career. At a professional level, historical knowledge enables more informed and sensitive decisions.

Grab pen and paper, or your favourite text editor. Write down each of the years since you were born and write a sentence by each. If something doesn’t spring to mind for a year, skip over it. You can always go back to it, once the creative juices start to flow. You now have a snap shot of your personal history, handy for writing that biography when you become famous.

Time for me to dig out a history book or two – I benefited from the last one I read back in April – and to keep that habit of creating a journal entry at the end of each day. History happens everyday.

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• You’re Having a Laugh Aren’t You?

I’m always looking to push my presentation and speaking skills, and Jack certainly did that! I’d highly recommend the course to anyone interested in comedy, especially if you are looking to go on to the stand up circuit.

People really can be taught to be funny – I’m convinced Jack could turn almost anyone into a comic. Stand up comedy is a good way to develop your creativity and to improve your confidence. The experience of being thrown on stage with an audience that is demanding a laugh from you is quite terrifying. It was the first time I have been nervous on a stage for a long time, but very rewarding all the same.

We can take ourselves far too seriously in the business world. It is a shame, as a good laugh can go a long way to defusing any crisis. Comedy is a creative art, but it is also a skill that can be learnt and honed. Some people are naturally funny, but that is just a temporary head start. Anyone can learn to get a laugh from an audience, even if not everyone will go on to become a world-class comedy superstar.

Some presentation trainers approach comedy with great caution. A blanket fear is misplaced, although some caution is required. It is true that there are some forms of humour that are simply not appropriate in a presentation. However, it is the content, rather than the context, that makes humour inappropriate.

I’ve worked with some of the world’s best leaders, and seen them use comedy to amazing effect. Victimless humour, or humour where you make yourself the victim can be great. Note (as mentioned in the Al Gore analysis) that you do need to be careful when you make yourself the victim of the humour – don’t do it in a way that is going to damage your credibility.

Comedy is a powerful tool for leadership and presenting, as Jack Milner says, “If they are laughing, they are listening”. Laughter provides a natural release mechanism for the tension that builds up in fraught situations. It is hard to be angry when you are laughing too.

To understand the role of laughter in leadership, check out Daniel Goleman’s book on Emotional intelligence: The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of Leadership into the Science of Results. Laughter is the fastest way to create emotional resonance in a group. This can be used to quickly get an audience on your side, or to bond a team you are leading.

Comedy is great for your mental health too, it has even been shown to fight off depression. Go on, learn to get a laugh. It will be a great investment of your time.

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• Where Are You Going? Vision, Mission and Values – Part II – Vision
• Where Are You Going? Vision, Mission and Values – Part I
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