A big strategic statement (such as a core purpose, mission, or vision statement) shouldn’t simply be words on a plaque or page that don’t really shape day-to-day activities.
When you get a strategic statement right, you’ll use it on a daily basis to shape decisions, priorities, and approaches to what you do and how you do things.
For instance, your organization's vision should make it clear what the bold promise is for its future. It should provide an attractive picture that helps employees better carry out their responsibilities to make the vision a reality.
Strategic Thinking Exercises – Testing Your Vision Statement Impact
How do you know if your vision statement is working as hard for you as it can?
Here’s one of our strategic thinking exercises to help you explore how well your big vision statement is suited to driving strategy and behaviors in your organization.
Ask these five questions:
- Is our vision statement primarily comprised of real, clear words people understand and use or is it primarily filled with business jargon?
- Is our vision statement one that could only describe your organization or could it apply to just about any organization?
- Does our vision statement sound like we talk inside our company or does it sound as if a consultant wrote it?
- Do employees know and understand our vision statement or is it generally a mystery to them?
- Does our vision statement shape big and small decisions or does it effectively sit on a shelf?
If your answers to the questions tend toward the first description in each question, you are on the right track. If your answers tend toward the latter description in each question, you should use additional strategic thinking exercises to explore how to better shape your vision statement. – Mike Brown
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