Foundational Pillar for Organizational Excellence

One of the major reasons that organizations fail to achieve excellence, I believe is a lack of clarity about why they exist, what they are trying to do, and what they need to do to be successful.

Among the first things founders of an organization should do is clarify the mission, vision, and values for the organization. This is equally true for existing organizations when there is a change of leadership or a change in direction or focus. Too often, in a rush to get to the work of the organization, or to respond to the demands of business in the case of existing organizations, these critical, foundational elements are skipped or glossed over. I believe that clear mission, vision, and value statements should serve as the pillars upon which future planning, budgeting, and operations rest.

W. Clement Stone is quoted as saying, “When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” Thus it is for organizations as well. A clear, compelling mission has the effect of generating enthusiasm and releasing the energy of organizational members. Whether it is a new or an existing organization, ensuring that the mission is clear, and that people understand it and support it, is critical. Having discussions about the mission with organization members will reveal if the mission is clear and if there is general agreement and support. If either is missing, these same discussions can help resolve the situation. Through active listening, underlying, and perhaps unspoken, concerns can be addressed and resolved. I have found that discussions about organizational mission can regenerate enthusiasm among its members about why the work of the organization is important and why they became part of the organization originally. The process of clarifying the mission allows people a chance to reconnect to the organization based on their own values and interests.

The next foundational piece that is required for excellent organizations is a common vision of what the organization is trying to become. Proverbs 29:18 states, “Where there is no vision, the people parish.” This may be an overstatement for organizations but vision statements are an important communication tool to ensure there is clarity and unity within an organization. This vision statement is typically broader than a mission statement; also it is meant only for those inside the organization as opposed to the mission statement which may be more generally distributed. A vision statement expresses in vivid language and detail, painting a word picture, what the organization is striving to become five, ten or even more years in the future. This word picture should describe what you are trying to build and can serve as inspiration for action. It also serves as a measure against which an organization can measure its performance.

Ideally, a vision statement will have a powerful, attention capturing first sentence that will reinforce the mission and can serve as a powerful motivating slogan. Microsoft’s, "A personal computer in every home running Microsoft software" is a good example of such a slogan. Such a statement, if done right, can serve as a mini-vision statement: one that can be memorized, remembered, and thus more easily impact organizational behavior.

The third pillar upon which organizational unity rests is the values statement. A values statement cites the values the organization holds most dear and reflects how the organization expects its members to treat each other, customers, suppliers, and often the greater society and environment. Developing a values statement is a critically important process. Perhaps even more than the mission or vision statement, the values statement will be the measure against which behavior will be measured. Care should be taken to ensure that values incorporated in the values statement are those most deeply held and that will drive organizational action. Adopting a values statement that sounds good but does not reflect reality can be dispiriting and cause more harm than good. However, well crafted, and truly believed values statements provide solid guidance about how decisions should be made and what actions taken.

Together mission, vision, and values statements can help an organization achieve unity of purpose, clarity of vision, and a clear basis for action. They are, I believe, foundational elements needed to create an excellent organization.