Where Are You Heading?

The following article was posted on LIBNET, the Colorado Library Listserv. It is geared to libraries, but the points given are applicable to any group and even individual.

If you are starting or have a business, even if it is sole-proprietorship, having a vision is essential to your success. How do you know what to do unless you know where you want to go? Create your path.

The same goes for the individual. Create a vision statement for your life. What is the most important job you have if it is not living your life? Give it the same respect and planning you put into your work. MP


Where Is Your Organization Heading?
by Rene Moquin, President of Dialogos Consulting


Have you reviewed your library’s mission and vision statement lately? Does it truly reflect where you are and where you are going? I often find confusion regarding the function of vision and mission statements and their relationship to one’s strategic planning process.


To clarify, strategic planning is taking what we know today plus lessons learned from the past and developing a plan to place the organization in a better competitive position for the future. If implemented correctly, a Plan will create higher levels of motivation, commitment and continuously fuel higher levels of achievement.


Visioning, on the other hand, is starting with a blank sheet of paper. It is about visualizing a future desired state, a picture of where and what we would like the organization to be in the future, without being constrained by such factors as funding or resources, and then working backward to develop an action plan to get us there. It is about imagination and discovery versus analysis and forecasts.


In recent years, many organizations have questioned whether they need a vision at all. Many leaders have pronounced themselves ill at ease with the “vision thing.” Any vision that is simply an extension of the CEO’s ego is dangerous. On the other hand, Hamel in his book, Competing for the Future, states “it is equally simplistic and dangerous to reject the very notion of foresight or vision because some organization leaders can’t distinguish between vanity and vision”.


The trick for any organization is to see the future before it arrives. In an effort to create vision, Hamel suggests that organizations must answer three critical questions: First, what new types of customer (client) benefit should we seek to provide in five, ten, or fifteen years? Second, what new competencies will we need to build or acquire to offer those benefits to customers (clients)? An third, how will we need to reconfigure the customer
(client) interface over the next several years?


I suggest that a vision statement should meet the following test:


* A vision statement is more than clichés, slogans and jargon

* A vision statement answers what we want to become

* A vision statement indicates where to concentrate our energies and
resources

* A vision statement is a bridge between the present and future

* A vision statement is the deepest expression of what the organization
wants to become

* A vision statement has emotional appeal

* A vision statement is powerful enough for members to want to take risks
and make painful changes

* A vision statement is “shared” by everyone

* A vision statement allows people to be connected together
synergistically


Are there inherent shortcomings to incorporating visioning into an organization’s strategic planning process? Certainly. The most common criticism or challenge is a perceived lack of tangible results. Visioning by nature is conceptual. It is important that visioning is not an end unto itself but an essential part of the strategic planning process. The point here is that this essential step is often overlooked. Incorporating visioning into the overall strategic planning process can be a transforming experience that permanently alters an organization’s view of the future- and of itself.


It is important that the creation of a vision statement includes strong participating by key stakeholders, is focused on customer and client requirements, and allows the organization to be tough on itself (question everything, be honest about our strengths, weaknesses, etc.). The interactive process encourages creativity and imagination and focuses on achieving results. An intended outcome is for the organization to create a well-crafted, meaningful statement, which defines a desires future state of the organization two to five years hence.


A strategic planning process must be uniquely tailored to the specific needs and goals of each organization. It often begins with an ear to the client’s board and staff, and can grow to include community surveys, focus groups, or individual interviews, all designed to learn bout how the organization is perceived by its critical stakeholders. A Planning Retreat may be the next step in order to get a jumpstart on the vision, mission and key goals. The entire process is “custom fit” to meet the needs of each individual client.
It is important to develop a relevant, achievable and measurable plan that positions them for their future. Why not jump on board?

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Rene Moquin is President of Dialogos Consulting and former CEO. He has worked with a number of associations and organizations in facilitating an interactive strategic planning process that captures and exploits the foresight that exists throughout organizations. Rene currently serves on the Estes Park Library Foundation. You can contact Rene at renemoquin@beyondbb.com.