5 Characteristics of Inspiring Vision and Mission Statements

Author: Cara G. Parker, President/CEO of C Parker Consulting, Inc.

Are vision and mission statements the same thing?  What's the difference between the two and do I really need both for my organization?  Let's delve into these questions by first highlighting the benefits of having both a vision and mission statement for your organization.  Having both are absolutely necessary in order to set the stage for the rest of your strategic plan.  Explicitly, they form the foundation of your strategy and set the direction for your organization.  More specifically, benefits include: prioritization of budgets, highlights skill gaps in the workforce, forms the basis for decision making and problem solving, focuses marketing/product promotion needs, and supports forecasting for your customer base and financials. 

Let's start with vision.  The vision of your organization is your polar star. It's visible throughout your organization and is used as a compass to set direction from all angles within your organization. And just as the polar star has five points – your vision should have five points:

1. Audacious.  In other words – "Go Large!"  Focus on achievement.  Define what success looks like for your organization.
2. Futuristic: Pull out your old grammar books and look for gerund verbs.  Gerunds are a great beginning.  Many vision statements start with words like, "Creating", "Building," "Moving." Choose your verb carefully though; words matter.  If your vision statement is too general, your audience won't know what you are saying.  If your statement is too specific, it can limit your success.
3. Clear/Descriptive:  Your statement should be a clear, short statement.  It paints picture of excellence.  Readers should be able to visualize what will be happening in your organization when the vision is fully met. It will be clear what your employees will be talking about around the coffee bar, what your customers are saying standing in front your building, or what your Chief Financial Officer is telling your city mayor!
4. Time Bound: I recommend setting your vision statement for a three to five year time span.  The world is too volatile to consider any longer.  The days of 10-year strategic plans are gone.  With the technology, political, financial, and global environment, a 10-year forecast is just too long.
5. Inspirational: Permeate your vision with passion!  Use it to stimulate your employees' creativity and thinking.  Allow it to give meaning to their work by creating a culture of success!  You are headed somewhere big, so set the tone and environment.
   
    
   
   Let's switch to mission now. Mission statements come in all shapes and sizes and the good news is you ultimately get to decide the right style for your organization.  The best missions are short, clear, and succinct.  Often a mission is viewed as a summary of your organization. The mission is a proclamation of our organization's purpose.  It usually does not change too much over time. A mission represents something to be accomplished whereas a vision is something to be pursued.
   
    
   
   Here are five characteristics for your mission statement:

1. Succinct: Mission statements should be short and snappy.  Details can be found in the strategic plan.
2. Memorable: Similar to your organization's logo, it should be easy to recall (another reason to keep it short!).  People should be able to remember the overall intent of it even if they cannot recall the full statement.
3. Unique: Your statement should not be all encompassing, which will cause it to be too broad and not memorable.  Focus on what it that you strive to do differently – what makes your organization stand out, how you achieve excellence!
4. Realistic: There's fine line between a realistic idea and wishful thinking. Your mission is not your vision – depicting a perfect future of success, but it is a summary of why you exist and what services you deliver.
5. Current: Although your mission statement should be written for the long haul, review it periodically to ensure it is current.  As your organization changes in slight direction or does a full 180 shift, your mission should keep up with the organization's shifts. 

In closing, vision and mission statements are similar, yet serve very different functions for your employees, customers, and stakeholders.  I challenge you to revisit or write a vision and mission statement as the jumpstart to your strategic plan.  Remember, it's your polar star.  Keep your organization shining!

Cara Parker is President/CEO of C Parker Consulting, Inc. in Fredericksburg, Virginia where she manages The Forum @ CPC – a "forum" for strategic planning, leadership training/development, strategic planning, and good conversation.  Check us out at www.cparkerconsulting.com

C Parker Consulting's Vision: Developing high performance clients.

Solve your Wicked Problems in 5 Steps!

By: Cara G. Parker, President and CEO of C Parker Consulting, Inc. with consultation from Dr. Gail Funke.

This is the time of year many of us in the C-Suite engage in planning for the next calendar or next fiscal year.  Often, we get in a room with our esteemed colleagues to map out our next strategic plan or develop the next operating budget and what happens – BAM! - We are faced with a "problem" as we begin to look into our company's future.  And these are typically not just any problems that we in the consulting field call "opportunities" or try to give a positive spin through the appreciative inquiry lens – No, these are WICKED!  These are problems so paradoxical that we see no-way out . These are problems like, "I need to reduce my budget by 30% AND still maintain the 97th percentile in quality customer service scores.

That's where these 5 steps some can help.

1.     Solve the Right Problem.  Einstein said, "If I were informed the world was in danger of coming to an end in 60 seconds, I would spend the first 59 seconds formulating the question and the 60th second solving for it.  Essentially, Einstein is saying - make sure you're solving the right problem by focusing on the true concerns and constraints.  Dig deep – often our first reaction is not really the right question to be asking. Ask "why" 5 times.  If we are not answering the right problem, we are wasting energy for something that is not going to produce results. A good problem statement describes an unfavorable condition that prevents a goal or objective from being achieved.  A good problem statement includes: the problem or defect, the magnitude of the event (how often it occurs), the location where it occurs, and how important the problem is (use metrics!).

2.     Pinpoint your Stakeholders.  The illustration of "walking a mile in the other person's moccasins" comes to mind here.  With the team you have convened to articulate the problem statement, identify ALL the people, departments, and organizations that are being impacted by the magnitude of the problem.  These stakeholders are the reason we exist.  They come in different shapes, sizes, forms and have just as many diverse needs.  Sample stakeholders include: customers, stockholders, employees, colleagues, distributors, suppliers – and the list continues.  Catalog each set of stakeholders and map the impact the problem is having on them.  Remember, stakeholders have both an interest in the problem and often times the power to influence the outcomes. 

3.     Analyze the Issues.  Problems don't occur in a vacuum; often they represent various issues culminating at one time.  We call this, the perfect storm! In this step, your team will analyze all the concerns and issues feeding into the problem statement.  Look at the problem from all angles. Gather data.  Consider:  resources (people, technology, dollars, time), perceptions (stakeholders, leadership, customers, employees), communication needs (internal and external), your culture, the overall environment (strengths, opportunities, and threats) and your organization's current vision, mission, goals and core values.

4.     Brainstorm Solutions:  This is the fun part.  Now that you have all the needed data – solve it!  You have the right problem statement written, have identified impacts, the issues are transparent, so go to it!  Creativity counts here.  Brainstorm as many ideas and steps needed to right your problem.  Quantity of ideas count – not quality at first.  Don't do this alone – you need more that just your brainpower.  Next, narrow down the solution(s) to the ones that make the problem not so wicked and scary and develop your plan of attack.

5.     Test Your Solution(s): Even our best ideas and solutions need the "gut check."  Once the solution is firm and your plan is in place, test it – experiment with it before you fully launch.  Conduct a focus group with impacted stakeholders and ask them for feedback, undergo a peer review of the idea, talk to a neutral person or trusted colleague, or launch a small pilot to see if the problem shrinks or goes away.  If you're off track, this test phase will save your reputation, your budget, and resources!

One caution:  these 5 steps are not necessarily consecutive steps.  For example, when you analyze the issues in Step 3, you may find you forgot a stakeholder or that the problem statement needs refined.  When you test your solution, you may need to go back and gather more data to analyze or brainstorm a different solution set.  The bigger issue when using these 5 steps is to ensure each step is conducted and no steps are missed.

For more information on Wicked Problem Solving or other organizational matters, watch our "5 Steps in 5 Minutes Whiteboard Session" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARbtX9NVBSQ or contact Cara Parker.  She can be found at: www.cparkerconsulting.com.

CPC Introduces E3

CPC Introduces E3 - a specialized program dedicated to the

Engagement, Efficiency and Execution of your meetings.

Meetings come in many forms (personnel, project status, off-sites, training, one-one-ones, crucial conversations, etc.).  Wouldn't it be nice if you walked out of every meeting saying, "Wow, I have clear direction - what a great meeting!"? Often, the opposite is true.  As a business consultant, I mostly hear, "That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back!"

Today's organizations are experiencing unprecedented challenges, specifically in increased costs, competition, expectations from their workforce, and constrained resources.  Often, these factors working together result in increased responsibilities from employees meaning increased tasks and less time to do them in.  As a result, many companies are simply responding to change rather than finding solutions that are both immediate and sustainable.

One of the best ways to navigate the transition from response to solution is to calibrate the engagement, efficiency, and execution of your meetings.  It sounds so simple, but results show that when meetings are well run using our proprietary E3 methodology, effectiveness propels toward solutions!

E3 Meetings* are founded in the following principles.

E1:  Engagement:  Each member in the room has a role and is a contributor. Using role management, E3 finds the best way to engage with each member based on his or her behavioral and communication styles.  Our strategists are skilled at ensuring everyone has a voice and is heard with respect. 

Solution:  Meetings are interesting with attendees actively participating.  Everyone's input is heard getting to buy-in!

Sample Tools: Role Assessment, Business rules, Pre-meeting Vision, Big Picture Orientation

E2:  Efficiency: Meetings must have purpose and an outcome.  Organizations cannot afford to use constrained resources to dialogue without conclusion or results.  In E3, participants come to meetings understanding the agenda, intent, and their role of contribution.  E3 facilitators utilize a cadre of tools to come to quick decisions while allowing focused time to analyze options.

Solution:  Understanding the purpose of the meeting and the value of 3rd party facilitation.  Outcomes based in analysis using the appropriate decision making tools and techniques.  Embracing virtual team members and use of media.

Sample Tools: Use of Virtual media, Meeting framework, Discovery, Graphic facilitation, Decision Making Matrix, Mind Maps, Process Maps

E3:  Execution: Individuals and participants need to leave meetings embracing decisions, with clear direction, tasks, and knowledge.  E3 methodology holds participants accountable for solutions with clear sustainable goals for execution and solutions.

Solution:  Sustainable results through action plans and RACI charts. Decision follow- through.

Sample Tools: Living Action Targets, Accountability Rubric, Product, Sustainable Tip Sheet

The result is simple - your organization operates better with CPC helping to propel your organization toward results!

Note the term "Meeting" has a broad meaning within E3. "Meetings" include personnel, project status, off-sites, training, one-one-ones, crucial conversations, etc.   

I didn't know I was so broke!

didn't know I was so broke! These days, it seems everywhere I turn, someone is trying to "fix" me – whether it's 21 Day Fix that will "fix" my health concerns; Stitch Fix, which will "fix" my wardrobe malfunctions; or Apple Security Fix, which will "fix" hacker threats to my cyber presence.  It seems everywhere I go, someone or some entity is offering a solution to things I care about.  I thought I'd join in. 

In leadership, we are truly always looking for the latest "fix." Leadership, at its core, is about continuous improvement or "fixing."  Here's my opinion:  a lot (if not a majority) of organizational and leadership concerns can by "fixed" by simply having a conversation.  We hear so much about the "art of conversation," or "just get up and talk to the person instead of sending another e-mail."  What I'm talking about has a greater return on investment. Let me give you 2 examples: innovation and performance management.

Innovation:  How much money has your organization spent in trying to think up better processes, improved ways of doing business, or how to solve a problem that has plagued your company for years?  Do you know how to "fix" this?  By talking.  Your employees are your greatest assets for innovation.  By simply getting a few of the right employees in a room, they will talk a mile a minute about how to "make it better around here."  Using good facilitation techniques, you can moderate healthy debates and prioritize the ideas using an impact/effort grid.  Tackle the easy "quick fixes" first.  Next, focus on the harder ones that take longer, are more resource intensive, or take more investigation.

Performance Management (PM): PM does not belong in your Human Resources Office.  It's the responsibility of every manager.  There are 2 sides to performance management – the growth of employees, and then "fixing" the problem employees.   Talking solves both.  PM conversations and coaching should be ongoing, scheduled and intentional conversations – not just a one-time event annually.  Career pathing, succession planning, growth opportunities, and mentoring are conversations best owned by managers.  Imagine a group of managers getting into a room for 2 hours sharing the needs of their divisions and employees. Next, through action-based facilitation, they begin matching up developmental opportunities and problem solving.  It's worth any amount of dollars spent on an "outside consultant."

Instead of thinking we're "broke," we at CPC are more concerned about you leveraging the current resources and assets you already have in order to move toward process improvement.  Take a moment and consider 2 areas you'd like to "fix" and then go facilitate good conversations!

C Parker Consulting, Inc. is an organizational and leadership development firm located in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia.  We offer facilitation of conversations to "fix" issues that leaders are overwhelmed by.  Our office, The Forum at CPC, provides a great place to parley these discussions.  Check us out at: www.cparkerconsulting.com

Perpetual Movement Toward Your Success!