How Important are Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture?

Source: David Maister Professional Business Professional Life

An organization that has a mission has set the stage for developing a vision. With a mission and vision set, the firm would then determine how to achieve them. The “how” would constitute its values (or principles). The values in turn would determine how people conduct themselves, i.e., the culture of the firm.

It is rare for any firm to achieve the realization of these concepts, and firm members are distrustful of them. Should they therefore be abandoned? David Maister gives a qualified no. When a firm has a clear mission, good things follow: decision-making is facilitated, recruiting is easier, and management can be less hands-on.

Firms with a mission other than to increase profits end up doing just that.
 

But it is crucial that firm members believe the firm is committed to that mission. And it is rare that any firm can be that believable to its people. Maister’s formula for motivating people to believe in the firm’s mission, vision, and values has two elements:

• Focus on the rules by which you will achieve them, not on the future of the firm.
• Explain the rules in terms of the individual’s accountability for following them.

Goals are more likely to be achieved if the firm focuses on what is required to achieve them. People must know that all decisions will be governed by the firm’s mission, vision, and values.

It is difficult to articulate a meaningful mission. For example, what does it mean to declare that the firm should be the leader in its market? It may be more meaningful to define it in terms of what it will not be. For example, it is more clear to say “we will not stay in a business for which we cannot charge a premium.”

If you cannot come up with a set of rules to which people will be committed, then you probably do not have a mission, vision, or values. If your people are bound to a set of principles that govern decisions in the firm, it is probable that the firm has a credible mission, vision, and values. Simply declaring that they exist does not make them part of the firm. It is not adoption of goals that defines an organization, but rather adherence to the goals – how it behaves. When the rules are clear, people understand what the organization is about. Management and decision-making are facilitated.

But obtaining commitment to the rules is a challenge. The most effective method is to first obtain buy-in from senior members of the firm. When that happens, rules can gradually be presented to the rest of the firm.

Here is a model set of rules Maister says can be used as a guide to formulating a set appropriate for a firm. When you have come up with your special set of rules, you will have defined your mission, vision, and values:

• Decisions will be governed by the following hierarchy of importance:
  •     Clients are always first.
  •     The interest of the firm is second.
  •     Needs of the individual are third.
• Client satisfaction will be so high as to generate referrals, which will be the principal source of new business.
• The firm will not tolerate people who place their own satisfaction ahead of their teams’.
• Monetary incentives will be based on contributions to the firm, not on personal performance.
• Learning new skills is a requirement for everyone in the firm.
• The firm will invest resources in initiatives that will generate payback in the future.
• Management personnel will be judged on performance of their teams, not on their personal results.
• Everyone is expected to coach and mentor those who report to them.
• The firm will not tolerate:
  •    Disrespect of others in the firm at any level.
  •    Failure to keep promises.
  •    Refusal to accept responsibility.
  •    Politics.
  •    Lack of integrity.

From David Maister—Professional Business, Professional Life, http://davidmaister.com. For the complete article, click on the following link: http://davidmaister.com/articles/4/107/ and read What’s Our Deal?