Visioning

Now we have facilitated visioning exercise of more than 50 small businesses. Recently we did visioning program for a Automotive parts manufacturing Company in Dewas (Madhya Pradesh). This company was introduced by our friend Yogesh Jain who also became an ardent follower of School of Strategy and he runs his organisation Niche Quality Solutions Pvt Ltd (http://nicheqs.com/), which has long experience in providing Six sigma, Quality solutions to organisations in and around Indore. An year's experience in strategy workshops have given him an opportunity to develop an unconventional perspectives on business growth. He says " I have attended many management programs organised by institutions such as IMA.... but the business strategy workshops are different and they really add value to the organisation. There is a sense of fulfillment in taking part in these sessions". It is wonderful to work with him now... ...

During the meetings with business owners the question that comes up a lot in the work we do is the difference between vision and mission. At times we come across companies which do not bother to distinguish them at all: but...They have a separate Values Statement (thank goodness), but if you ask them to tell their Vision, and then their Mission, they’ll give you the same answer for both questions. So what is . difference? Does it matter? Yes it does! we will see visioning here .

• A strategic vision is usually thought to be solely future oriented. A vision provides an organization a forward looking, idealized image of itself.


• Moves outside the usual assumptions.


• Concentrates on the end goal, not the means to reach the goal.


• Followers gain ownership by developing the means (action plan).

Another benefit when done together with the people in the organisation is shared vision, which includes a present component.

• Vision is not a destination, but an intangible structure that surrounds us and guides our daily activities. From this perspective, a shared vision is a form of self-identity.

This definition of vision is a collective belief in what the organization can become. In this way it is similar to a truly desired wish for the future. If the vision is sufficiently broad it is enough for providing a framework for current decisions.

Regularly feedback can be employed for both corrective action and vision revision (interesting combination of words). If the feedback indicates a problem in the implementation and nothing amiss in the expected vision then the strategy and/or tactics can be altered to get back on track toward the vision. And if there is an indication that the vision is no longer realistic there is no problem with a shift in vision to a more workable vision. Normal planning cycles allow for such a step on an annual or half yearly basis.

ImplicationsWhat is unique about the organization's self-concept of itself? Something that would be missed if the organization were not to fulfill this vision.

What issues might arise among different stakeholders as this vision is realized?
Are organizational practices aligned with the vision? Are desired actions reinforced by performance metrics?

Putting an organization’s mission & vision in place requires working at all levels of the organization. Often, the effort is only made at the top of the organization with the expectation that employee commitment will follow. This assumption is far from true. It is recommended that a specific change program be put in place to develop a shared vision and common understanding of the organization’s vision and mission.

Passion is inevitable

In the last two weeks of February 2011, I met at least 50 new interesting people. Many of them are business owners and leaders. While interacting with them it is reconfirmed or rediscovered that "Passion" has a significant place in the success of a business.

It emerges that Passion is a pre-requisite for business. It is one of the primary investments of business owners . It is an invisible ingredient. It provides a compelling reason to stay on purpose and it ignites the desire to serve a greater cause than profit alone. Passion leads to care for something. If any person fails, it is because they are unable to care. The caring attitude stems from passion.

In an economic context it appears now that passion is important though it is intangible. A passion for business (making profits and gains) and passion for serving a higher purpose ( creating valuable results) is seen among most of the successful business owners.

Jack Kahl the erstwhile Owner of Manco Inc - a successful duct tape company in America (now known as Henkel Manco) used to go for lectures to colleges and other business gatherings. one of his favourite speech was titled as " Don't park your heart at the Curb", which indicates that a great work is accomplished by involving the heart (which is passion).

I have seen many universities mentioning about "passion' as requirement, but did not yet found it as a part of curriculum in any of the Business schools. In the real world of business and leading, passion plays an integral role. Hence it is important to ask the question. Can passion be taught? difficult to answer, but it is transferable and evokable. A business leader has to have passion and then transfer it to others or has to awaken in others for the cause. Great leaders do this.

When a group of people are passionate about a unified cause... social capital builds. Social capital is one of the prime capitals required for business success in the modern times.

How to do this may be saved for another blog... of if you have answers welcome... if you put it in your blog ... please send the link....

have passion... preserve it... nourish it....

contributed by : Sasikanth Prabhu