Organizations that enjoy sustained success are built from the core values that remain foundational while their culture carefully adapts to changing business strategies and to a changing economic environment.
Smart leaders take the time to identify the core values that are central to any organizational culture and then build strategies that are in alignment with these strategies. Such strategies can be modified without destroying the company’s vision statement and purpose when values are solidly entrenched in the company’s culture.
The ability to manage continuity and change requires an agreed-upon and disciplined effort from the company’s entire culture. With this concerted effort, an organization’s vision can be crafted which allows the company to utilize its core strengths and core values. Goals can be set based on the vision for the future trajectory of the company.
A well-crafted vision statement provides essential guidance about how the culture embracing its core values can successfully implement strategies that ensure positive productive future progress.
A well-constructed vision statement transforms day-dreaming and wishful thinking into a clear set of ideas that describe a future state. Vision statements should describe the state of the organization, across its six strategic functions. These functions are company leadership, marketing, sales, operations, product/services, and finances. Each function should be delineated with strategies that the culture implements to achieve the company’s overall goal.
Updating Your Company Vision Statement
To begin the exercise of creating an updated vision statement for your company, start with the company’s mission statement. The mission is about who you are and why you exist. It embodies the core values (which translates into a system of guiding principles) and the core purpose (the organization’s most fundament reason for existence). The vision statement is dynamic and drives constant learning and innovation as you adapt to the changing world.
The vision is keyed onto a specific goal to be accomplished. It becomes the guiding star to which every aspect of the business needs to set its sights and design strategies to meet. Goals are revisited and updated which keeps the vision relevant and a useful tool for sustaining the business’ healthy existence in a competitive world. Have you identified which star will be your guiding star and chosen it from the vast number of possibilities that exist?
When dealing with vision statements, reality sets in. Businesses are complex and the future is vague. The how doesn’t need to be defined, just the overall trajectory for the company. Setting direction allows the leader to consider what resources need to be accumulated to reach the goal.
A vision should help inform direction and help set priorities. It should be adapting to the world in which the organization exists. Visioning is a process, not an output.
Ann Gatty
Dr. Ann Gatty is a business development strategist with 30 years’ experience, who believes that everyone has the capabilities to get where they want to go if they are enabled with the right strategies and tools. As a business consultant she builds businesses to work brilliantly. She is the co-founder of StrategicPeopleSolutions.com, an organization that helps businesses develop strong leaders while creating a culture where self-improvement is an intrinsic part of the organization’s value system. Ann works with clients to develop a strategic path towards the life they’ve always imagined. Ann can be reached at 855-284-4448 or [email protected].
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