Guiding Question: Do we know why we are working together?
Content provided by
University of St.Gallen,
Institute of Technology Management
Your team will face many challenges in the upcoming months and years. To master these challenges, a strong bond and alignment within the team is essential.
This can (partly) be achieved by defining a common vision, mission as well as common values. However, this is not a one-off task – once defined (with the aim of long-term impact), they need to be regularly reflected upon after certain time or events (based on actual implementation).
The following sub-chapters tries to guide you through the process(es) providing details about each step.
A strong and pragmatic framework to define the vision, mission and value statements of a startup is the following (following Kirkpatrick, 2016):
👁️ Vision (WHY)
"The idealistic, timeless dream"
Formal description of the organisation’s desired, long-term future state. (2)
Explains why a company exists, which kind of positive impact the team is aiming at
Creates shared meaning/understanding among team members, inspiration, motivation, attraction
Form: statement
💪 Mission (WHAT)
"The realistic long-term goal"
Defines the products or services provided to customers or constituents. (2)
Can include perspectives of various stakeholder
"We do X to achieve Y"
Form: statement
❤️🔥 Values (HOW)
"The desired character of a company"
Define the means or behaviours by which the organisation will go about attaining its vision. (2)
The rules of the game: what is (not) acceptable behaviour? (‼️ Does not provide the path - that’s in the Strategy: explains how the mission and vision will be carried out)
Shown by promoted employees
Form: list / behavioral statement
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Attributes of impactful vision/mission statements (see Glossary below for definitions)
Invitation: invite all participants, share an agenda with them
Make them prepare (share definitions and success criteria)
Define the goal of the session
Make sure participants sleep enough the night before the event (e.g. make them arrive at the event location already the evening before the official start)
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Have working session together
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Create a positive atmosphere first
Have coffee/tee and informal chats
Make sure there are no interpersonal issues among participants (if so, take time to solve them → talk, talk, talk)
Suggest to switch off phones, laptops and other disturbing devices
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Transition into working session "mode"
Recap why you came together
Create common understanding of vision - mission - values
It is more important to have a common understanding of what a vision / mission is than following the exact statement definitions above
Just make sure that all members of the planning group are aligned and know the success criteria of what you call vision/mission/values!
Depending on the size of your group: split up in sub-groups
Define a moderator for each group
Have external moderator(s)
Make groups choose an internal moderator
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Start working session (Part I)
Moderator(s) start off by asking thought provoking questions to generate a debate within group(s)
Initial ideas are jotted down on a wall/poster (by the moderator)
Go step-by-step: vision > mission > values
E.g. use post-its
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Take breaks
This is a creative process, which takes time!
Have lunch together, where you should try not talking about the content
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Start working session (Part II)
If you worked in separate groups in Part I:
Let each group present to each other the initial ideas of the morning
Analyse awareness, understanding, and the other success criteria
Check to what degree they find them relevant and motivational
Goal: identify misunderstandings, find right wording/terminology
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Finalise statements
Meet with planning group
Agree on final statements based on the feedback collected and group members' reflection on the initial draft after the initial working session
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2. Communicate
Integrate the statements into any communication taking place within your company
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Leverage standard communication means
Office(s) (e.g. posters)
Email messages (e.g. info mail, signatures)
Website
Intranet
Pitches, financial reports etc.
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Relate daily communication to the statements
Refer daily actions and decisions made to the statements
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Leverage regular meetings
E.g. reflect & discuss statements in quarterly OKR meetings
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3. Implement
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Align the organisation's strategy & goals
Track/monitor goals
Reward people when goals are met
Communicate the relevance of meeting goals with regards to the vision/mission
Define new goals that bring the company another step closer to the vision/mission
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Align talent management system
Align communication and processes of hiring, onboarding, selection, and performance management
Provide new employees with copies of the statements
Make leaders tell the story / history of the company to new employees
Promote only people that respect the statements
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Align organisation's structure
If your vision statement mentions two main business lines, consider creating a structure that reflects the visions
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4. Re-examine
From time to time:
Quarterly (within OKR discussions)
Annually
After certain events: evolvement of company, market changes etc.
💡
The communication (step 2), implementation (step 3) and regular re-examination (step 4) of the statements is an iterative process that requires time and resources. Many companies neglect step 2-4 and get lost in the daily hustle and bustle. However, these steps are crucial in order to create the aforementioned bond and alignment within a company. Without them, the initial development is almost useless. So create a 'purpose-focused routine' and make the re-examination of the statements a fixed part of regular meetings, such as OKR planning sessions.
Vision: “We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion.”
Mission: “Transportation as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone.”
Values: "We build globally, we live locally, we are customer obsessed, we celebrate differences, we do the right thing, we act like owners, we persevere, we value ideas over hierarchy, we make big bold bets.”
Vision: "Provide access to the world’s information in one click."
Mission: "Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."
Values: "Focus on the user and all else will follow, Fast is better than slow, Democracy on the web works, You can make money without doing evil, There’s always more information out there, and great just isn’t good enough."
Vision: "To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online."
Mission: "We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and the utmost convenience."
Core Values: customer obsession, ownership, invent and simplify, are right, a lot, hire and develop the best, insist on the highest standards, think big, bias for action, frugality, vocally self-critical, earn trust of others, dive deep, have backbone, disagree and commit, and deliver results
🛠️ Glossary of guiding principles
Name
Definition
Source
Clarity
The extent to which the vision statement is understood by employees
2
Future focus
Describing the desired future (not current) state
2
Abstractness & challenge
Providing a non-concrete, difficult yet achievable future
2
Idealism
Portraying a highly desirable future
2
Brevity
Providing a succinct, easy-to-remember statement
2
Uniqueness
Describing how the organization differentiates itself from other organizations, including its products and services, markets, strategy, or company history
2
Success definition
Stating how the company measures its progress in achieving the desirable future
