Written by Mike Harris, managing director at Strategus Consulting
Introduction
Hello & welcome back to all you Leaders In Strategy. I’m Mike Harris and this is episode six of my blog, which I am which I’m calling “Are Company Values Old Hat?”
I recently did a strategy workshop with a client, and when I spoke about Vision Statements, Mission Statements, and Values, a delegate asked the question, “aren’t Mission Statements and Values rather old hat?” Which I thought was a great question, and would be a good topic for a Blog, so here we are.
But first, I just want to welcome you back if your returning & also welcome everyone who is joining us for the first time. Great to have you here.
So, if you are new or like me you just have a short memory, I’m just going to provide a quick recap.
I am an experienced leadership consultant, and most of what I do is through workshops, seminars, and coaching.
Last year, I decided to widen our reach and help a new audience, and someone suggested doing a blog. So here we are, with each episode covering a different subject related to leadership & strategy. I will share insights from my successful workshops & seminars & hopefully you will gain a different perspective and some helpful insights.
Everything I look at is through the lens of strategy. For some of you this will be new and for others this will act as a refresher. It will help sharpen the skills that you already have. Hopefully this will remind you of what is currently affecting your business and therefore should be considered when looking at a strategy. In particular, I think you will find this episode interesting.
For those who are unsure what is meant by Vision, Mission & Values here is some background information:
Vision Statement
• This describes what a company desires to achieve in the long run, perhaps over a given period of time.
• Some typical examples of Company Vision Statements are:
1. Disney: “To make people happy.”
2. Oxfam: “A just world without poverty”
3. TED: “Spread ideas”
• Another example is Strategus Consulting’s Vision, which is “To develop the next generation of leaders”. I’m sharing this not to say that ours is the perfect example, but just so that you can see how they can work in an everyday business.
Mission Statement
• These are used by companies to explain in simple and concise terms their purpose for being. The statement is generally short, either a single sentence or a short paragraph.
• Some examples are:
1. Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
2. Starbucks: “With every cup, with every conversation, with every community – We nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection.”
3. Tesla: “To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
• Strategus Consulting’s Vision is “To continually improve our customers’ performance through strategy, innovation & experience”.
Company Values (also called corporate values or core values)
• These are a set of guiding principles and fundamental beliefs that help teams work toward a common business goal.
• Some typical Values include:
1. Honesty
2. Trust
3. Collaboration
4. Teamwork
5. Quality
6. Innovation
7. Respect
• Strategus Consulting’s Values are Strategy, Innovation & Experience.
As I said earlier, I held a recent workshop with a client and when we got talking about Visions, Missions and Values, one of the delegates asked the question “but Mike, aren’t these rather old hat?” In other words, aren’t they out of date, maybe redundant in the modern business world? I have to say it put me on the back foot for a minute and it made me think.
To be fair, I understood their point. To some extent they have become ‘corporate speak’. Great for websites & power-point presentations. But in reality, do businesses really mean them? Do they actually use them? Do they have a real practical application every day?
In the workshop, we discussed the following:
1. Overall, I am an advocate for Visions & Mission Statements, however:
• Pros: I think they’re a great way for articulating the business strategy, and can provide clarity in the company’s purpose, objectives, and key actions.
• Cons: For them to have meaning they must shape a business, inspire their teams, and create competitive advantage. Otherwise, they are just meaningless corporate jargon.
2. Again, I really like Values, however:
• Pros: I’m a strong believer that they must be at the heart of what an organisation believes and run through everything that they do as a business.
• Cons: A lot of company Values have become very generic. They cover the same things such as Honesty, Trust, Collaboration, and Teamwork. However, we all believe in these things. So why are they plastered all over companies’ websites, etc. as if these beliefs make them something special.
In these instances, I question, are they real? are they really what’s at the heart of the business? or are they just saying these things because they think that’s what people want to hear.
In summary
• I concluded that Mission Statements, Visions & Values can be a great way to communicate the strategy. But they’re not right for every business.
• They must be authentic. Really be at the heart of what you believe, and they must run through everything you do as a business.
• They shouldn’t exist just to act as a tick boxing exercise.
• So, ultimately, my answer to the question, “are company values old hat?”, is no, I don’t think they are old hat at all!
Homework
That’s it for today, I hope you enjoyed the topic. I thought it was fun to relay the discussion I had at a recent workshop.
As you know, I like to set some homework, so look at your own company & answer the following questions:
• Do you know what your organization’s Vision, Mission Statement and Values are?
• Are they relevant, or do you think they are out of date & redundant in the modern business world?
• Are they real in your business?
• Or have they just been produced as part of a tick boxing exercise?
I’m eager to hear from you! Share your insights on Visions, Missions, & Values. Contact me via email at [email protected] or reach out to me on LinkedIn.
Episode seven
I hope you enjoyed this blog, and I’ll see you here for our next episode, which is called ‘What is a SMART Strategy?’.
About the author
Mike Harris is an experienced business leader and founder & lead consultant at Strategus Consulting. With 40 years of experience, Mike offers a unique opportunity for readers to learn and grow as strategic leaders. He is also the host of the Leaders In Strategy Podcast, which can be found on Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Podcast, Podchaser and YouTube.
The Leaders in strategy blog is brought to you by Strategus Consulting (www.strategusconsulting.co.uk), a management consultancy that works with organizations and individuals to achieve their ambitions by focusing on their strategic plans and providing leadership, guidance & support.