Strategy 101 - Mission Without Vision

Mission without vision is surviving. If you can craft a mission statement but cannot articulate a vision, don’t try to force one. There is no value in a vision statement that is either disconnected from the reality of what the business does or that no one, in particular the organization’s leadership, believes is real. This sort of disconnect only sows confusion and cynicism.

Indeed, many companies do just fine without vision but with solid mission(s). They just lack inspiration and the motivating passion vision can arouse. Some company leaders are not visionaries, they are missionaries. These leaders can drive successful businesses that are characterized by a relatively short-term focus. If your try to impose a vision on such a leader, it will not stick for long. They must come to it by themselves or not at all.

Mission without vision is common in two kinds of companies. Start-ups are predominately mission driven. It takes incredibly short-term focus to birth a business. True vision often comes later as the business takes hold and finds its identity and customers.

Established companies with more than one distinct mission frequently cannot develop a vision statement because there is not much of a common thread that links product lines. Such businesses are often run as financially-focused conglomerates, even if they are very small. Such conglomerates should separate out their parts and allow each to develop its own vision and mission.

When it comes to running a business, mission trumps vision. There is something to be said for survival.

Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman

Technorati: Business Strategy, Strategic Planning