“Without a vision, the people perished” is a famous line from the book of Proverbs 29:18. Countless sessions have been conducted for organizations since the vision-mission phenomena started many years back but does this really work?
A few years ago, a group of Japanese executives from one of our client companies, flew in to Manila to take a mission-vision exercise with us. Their plant in the country is one of their largest subsidiaries and the business that they generate from this location is substantial. Hence, it was necessary that they undertake what they consider as a major initiative of the organization.
Using a Japanese interpreter to translate our lectures and activities during the session, we introduced them to a physical activity where the executives, some as old as 60, were blindfolded. Though they struggled through the imposed barriers using only their partners as their guide, it was evident that they took to the task with much gusto. During the processing, they said that they found the activity not just fun but more importantly, they found it meaningful.
“Without vision, Sato San will make mistake,” mumbled one Japanese executive.
“Can you repeat that?” I asked.
“Without vision, Sato San will make mistake,” he replied.
“Exactly!” I retorted. “We need to have a common vision, a common path, a common understanding; or we will all make mistakes,” I stressed.
A common vision provides a guide for everyone to see where the organization is heading. It clarifies the goal. It shows your people what is important to you. It is the starting point by which all can come to an agreement of what you hope to achieve.
A company we worked with was on the verge of failure when they started their vision-mission campaign. Inviting us to their plant a year later, the GM challenged us to ask any of their employees to recite their vision-mission credo. Looking around the offices, we saw that their vision statements were posted everywhere. So, we opted to go their motor pool where there were no overt clues. We saw an elderly mechanic under a vehicle. Tapping him on the leg, we asked if he would recite their vision statement to us. What happened next was a pleasant surprise to us: he excused himself, washed his hands then put on his blue shirt jock. Then he recited their vision statement with such pride, it almost brought tears to our eyes. This company is now very profitable.
Should we say more?
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