Being in the final stages of strategic planning right now with my company (following the establishment of a Vision statement last year) I just can’t leave Derrick’s post alone.
He is absolutely correct with his assumption that many “visioning” exercises are empty of real meaning or impact. As any good business consultant will tell you, execution of the vision and the strategy is a lot harder than crafting the words. Most companies do not follow through and get any real value. It sounds like that’s what Derrick experienced (as I have in several previous lives).
But, for a company like ours that is transitioning from a manufacturing mentality to become a “custom solution provider”, the ‘vision thing’ and the subsequent strategic planning has shown value already. Creating the statement was a company wide activity, and we got input from every level (a first). We are now working to help employees ‘connect’ with that vision – what does it mean for you? what does it mean for your function and area?
Simultaneously, the leadership team is working through a sometimes painful strategic planning session to align the company’s structure, resources and efforts towards achieving that vision. One approach is more organic, grassroots, the other provides focus for our management efforts. If nothing else, it got us out of our status quo, made us ask ourselves the tough questions and gave us a process to do some worthwhile planning (the strategic planning process includes setting specific action plans and measuring results, so it’s designed to lead to real changes).
Could a strong charismatic leader do the same without the hokey “OD” work? Sure. Many do. My suspicion is, those types of leaders use the same tools in a different way – they help people see the vision they articulate (even if its not developed by the employees), they reinforce and direct efforts that lead to that vision, and they make sure their organization supports it with its actions and behaviors.
Will our effort be a guaranteed success and is it worth it? That’s up to us…and how well we execute.