The vision mission exercise
Words matter only if they flow from the depths of intentions, when they have consequences
 "The vision mission exercise")
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We’re away on a mission-vision exercise,” said the client’s voice on the phone, speaking Hindi. ‘Vision’ sounded like what philologists call an echo word: a handy utterance meant both to downplay the echoed word —mission, in this instance. Like we say “tax-vax” or “college-shollege”. Mission-vission.
That was two decades ago. These days, Deep Design often deals with the corporate brand, and must uncover what makes it tick in its own special way. This inevitably begets close encounters with the company’s Vision and Mission statements, hanging lifelessly in the conference room (or above the photocopier in the utilities room). A polite attempt must be made to decode its vague and impenetrable corporatespeak. It can then be safely forgotten, for assuredly no one from the company will remember or care.
And every now and then, a company might ask to have one of these things crafted. Deep Design takes arms against the problem: please find here, not advice on how to build one, but your columnist’s experience of what seems to go wrong when a group gets down to it. Why the result, so often, is empty bombast, without the capacity to inspire or guide; why it lies ignored and forlorn.
That’s an opportunity lost, because words matter. They can indeed provide an unwavering compass, a reminder that reinforces better thoughts and action, especially in times of uncertainty, and last a decade or more.
Some definitions follow. A Vision is an aspiration for the company’s future destination, a “some day…” statement. A Mission sets the course for the journey, a “today, we…” promise. A company might also add Values — non-negotiable choices, irrespective of reward or disadvantage. Or a Purpose — why, beyond the obligation of profit, the company exists.
The words must be short, sharp and capable of triggering images and action. Yet, this is not mere copy-crafting exercise. Words matter only if they flow from the depths of intentions, when they have consequences.
Without consequences, the statement ensures its irrelevance; it will make no one’s job harder, no one’s stride quicker, because participants have no skin in the game. The surest sign is an absence of fear, because an outcome is guaranteed, and failure is ruled out. The tacit, collective responsibility is to ensure sufficiently imprecise language.
In this condition, expect the words to be borrowed, not owned, and at worst, from the vision statements of the most admired firm du jour.
While listing Values, quality, for example, is a perennial. Every business aims at it, but is the word a given? Qifaayat, a budget home goods brand, may define quality differently in both criteria and degree (neat, reliable and just good enough). This brand need not enshrine quality as a Value. It might leverage its own way of doing business and express a Value like “domestic happiness for everyone”.
That was two decades ago. These days, Deep Design often deals with the corporate brand, and must uncover what makes it tick in its own special way. This inevitably begets close encounters with the company’s Vision and Mission statements, hanging lifelessly in the conference room (or above the photocopier in the utilities room). A polite attempt must be made to decode its vague and impenetrable corporatespeak. It can then be safely forgotten, for assuredly no one from the company will remember or care.
And every now and then, a company might ask to have one of these things crafted. Deep Design takes arms against the problem: please find here, not advice on how to build one, but your columnist’s experience of what seems to go wrong when a group gets down to it. Why the result, so often, is empty bombast, without the capacity to inspire or guide; why it lies ignored and forlorn.
That’s an opportunity lost, because words matter. They can indeed provide an unwavering compass, a reminder that reinforces better thoughts and action, especially in times of uncertainty, and last a decade or more.
Some definitions follow. A Vision is an aspiration for the company’s future destination, a “some day…” statement. A Mission sets the course for the journey, a “today, we…” promise. A company might also add Values — non-negotiable choices, irrespective of reward or disadvantage. Or a Purpose — why, beyond the obligation of profit, the company exists.
The words must be short, sharp and capable of triggering images and action. Yet, this is not mere copy-crafting exercise. Words matter only if they flow from the depths of intentions, when they have consequences.
Without consequences, the statement ensures its irrelevance; it will make no one’s job harder, no one’s stride quicker, because participants have no skin in the game. The surest sign is an absence of fear, because an outcome is guaranteed, and failure is ruled out. The tacit, collective responsibility is to ensure sufficiently imprecise language.
In this condition, expect the words to be borrowed, not owned, and at worst, from the vision statements of the most admired firm du jour.
While listing Values, quality, for example, is a perennial. Every business aims at it, but is the word a given? Qifaayat, a budget home goods brand, may define quality differently in both criteria and degree (neat, reliable and just good enough). This brand need not enshrine quality as a Value. It might leverage its own way of doing business and express a Value like “domestic happiness for everyone”.