Rally people around a vision

Many employees think back on the past visions of their employers with a smirk or a frown. Although these visions were launched by management with great acclaim, they often were quickly forgotten in just a few months, without making a dent on company practices.

Nevertheless, the vision can be a highly effective management tool. By expressing goals in a credible and compelling manner, it gets people engaged and directs their efforts. For example, sustained success of companies like Toyota, General Electric and Tetra-Pak is supported by such a strong vision that guides the decisions of each unit through the years.

But such examples are rare. Observation shows that many companies invest in developing a vision, but few manage to actually make something out of it. Based on a study of 125 businesses and non-profit organizations in Europe and the U.S., the author of “The Committed Enterprise” has identified the main reasons that many visions fail. He draws interesting conclusions on how to design and communicate a compelling vision.

Among the many suggestions offered in the book, we selected the following as particularly relevant:

– Only a committed vision that reflects a real personality for the organization will get people engaged.

– Don’t underestimate the effort required to communicate the vision. A well-designed vision is important, but disseminating it is the hard part.

– Make sure the vision is translated into action. A vision is credible only if the promoted values, processes and key decisions are consistent.