Transcript Document

Building Your Company’s 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
Core Ideology
Envisioned Future
Captures what you stand for and why you exist.
Role is to guide and inspire those inside,
not to differentiate.
Core Values
Timeless guiding principles.
Rarely if ever change.
Core Purpose
Reason for being.
Rarely if ever changes.
Aspirations
BHAG
Vivid
Description
Clearly articulated,
lofty goal -What the future looks
15+ years out.
like when you’re successful.
Key Strategies
How will we achieve the BHAG within the context of our core ideology?
Source: “Building Your Company’s Vision”, by
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
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 it’s not core, it’s up
for change!
Source: “Building Your Company’s 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
Sharei Chesed Synagogue
• Accepting and respecting of
all
• Love your neighbor as
yourself
• Inspiration through learning
and teaching
• Accountability to ourselves,
our synagogue and our
communities
Sony
• Elevation of the
Japanese culture and
national status
• Being a pioneer – not
following others, doing
the impossible
• Encouraging individual
ability and creativity
Source: “Building Your Company’s Vision”, by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
Walt Disney
• No cynicism
• Nurturing and promulgation
of “wholesome American
values”
• Creativity, dreams and
imagination
• Fanatical attention to detail
& consistency
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”
United Way
To mobilize local leaders and
their communities in order to
identify and address local
human needs.
Sharei Chesed Synagogue
To share and experience the
joys and comforts of Judaism in
a friendly place where all feel
welcome.
Make a Wish Foundation
To enrich the lives of children with
life-threatening medical conditions.
3M
To solve unsolved problems
innovatively
Lost Arrow Corporation
To be a role model and a tool
for social change.
Source: “Building Your Company’s Vision”, by James
C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
Core Purpose Criteria
• States your organization’s reason for
begin
• Provides inspiration and direction for
doing the work
• Timeless
• Never truly completed
• Not a statement of core competence
• Doesn’t have to be differentiating
Envisioned Future
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 Company’s Vision”, by
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)
•
•
•
•
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
Boeing, 1950 (Target BHAG – can be qualitative or quantitative)
“Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet
age.”
Stanford University (Role-Model BHAG)
“Become the Harvard of the west.”
Nike (Common-enemy BHAG)
“Crush Adidas”
Computer Products Company (Internal-Transformation BHAG)
“Transform from a industry innovation follower to industry innovation leader”
Source: “Building Your Company’s Vision”, by
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras; HBR
Vivid Description
• A vibrant, engaging and specific description of what it will be like to achieve
the BHAG
• Makes the BHAG tangible in people’s 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 Company’s 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
[email protected]
763-553-2018