Putting Vision And Values Into Perspective
By Alan Patching
In this article we'll address corporate vision and values in an organisation.
An understanding by business leaders of these concepts can have only positive effects for their organisations.
Do you remember when a 'guru' speaker was the essential platform highlight at every conference? This person would present with consummate skill and persuasive passion. She/he would then retire to the back of the room to speak with the delegates for a few minutes (perhaps more than a few minutes if book sales and autographs were in demand) and then head off to the next conference.
Things have changed. Organisations now want to know the person behind the stage image. They want the presenter's views on the issues of everyday corporate life. They want to know how their problems compare with those of the corporate world at large. Business leaders are reaching out for information on the latest management concepts that could increase their productivity and enhance that all important bottom line. These same leaders appear to be becoming acutely aware of and notably interested in what I call the 'spiritual' aspects of managing the organisation. This interest is most often expressed in questions regarding how the 'V' words can impact on management of modern business.
Vision and Values… the 'V' words. Corporate purpose is another word you can expect to see linked with 'spiritual leadership' in future, and I'll address that topic in a future article. I believe that these concepts will forever remain as essential as continuing innovation to corporate success. These concepts recognise that a corporation is really just a group of people working in a defined structure, hopefully towards common goals. This being the case, the values of the organisation can never be other than the collective values of those employed individuals. These concepts, sadly, remain largely misunderstood even in some of the highest profiled and best resourced organisations.
Vision is how the corporation sees its future. The picture is often well outside of what many in the corporation believe could possibly be achieved. Nonetheless, management tries to impress it's vision indelibly into the hearts and minds of the workers because, hey, every decent organisation has a corporate vision. Everybody knows that!
Meanwhile the people who make up the organisation often continue to lead lives of quiet corporate desperation.
In my experience, two factors prevail
- Most corporations have a stated vision
- Very few of the people who work for the organisation have any clue what it is.
It's effectively a marketing statement – on all the corporate collateral to show the market we're keeping pace with management trends.
Whenever I ask a conference audience to write down what they would want in a world of limitless abundance, the answer often can be summarised as a desire for reasonable health and wealth, great relationships and a happy life. Never have I had somebody include in their list "I want to be part of achievement of our corporate vision". Why? Because most people are sane, that's why.
When people are answering this question, they are getting in touch with what Dr. Carl Priebrum, former head of neuro-psychology at Stamford University, calls their Images of Achievement. In this concept lies the secret of achievement of corporate vision. Let's examine why.
Is it not reasonable to assume that, if I could demonstrate to our conference audience that I could deliver the items they scheduled without un reasonable effort on their part, they would work with me to deliver the goods? If this is the case, I believe it must be possible to use this principle in the achievement of our corporate vision by showing our people that our business environment is a place wherein that they can be confident they will achieve some of their Images of Achievement.
I stress material goods are not usually all that employees seek from their employers in western society. I clearly recall, however, an occasion in a developing country when I posed the question of what people would want if they could have anything in the world to a group of young and enthusiastic insurance agents. Over eighty five percent of the 200 people in the room put a mobile phone on the list. I found that fascinating. I advised the company that giving the phones plus a small amount for private calls as an incentive might be a relatively inexpensive way to achieve significant performance enhancement. The company reported extraordinary success from the program.
Let's digress for a look at the other 'V' word, values. People in western society clearly have a healthy value for money. Without it there is little chance of urban survival with any sort of quality of life.
Put those same people in a situation where their lives are at risk and the only way they can save themselves is by giving up all that they own, and there simply would be no doubt about the response. The material possessions would quickly take a position well subordinate to their personal safety and survival.
However, if these people's loved ones were in danger, they will more than likely put their own safety on the line to save those loved ones. A personal values hierarchy placing at the top of the list self, loved ones and spiritual matters in ascending order is common in our society and many (probably most) others.
So what is the point of a corporate values statement declaring, for example, that 'the customer is number one'?
The fact is the higher order of values of the people who make up the organisation will usually lead people to place their own spirituality, family and self above the corporate source of income, the customer, when the chips are down. Our people may lie down in front of a bulldozer if the lives of their loved ones were at risk. It is unlikely that they would do this for our customers.
Another most important observation is at some level of consciousness, our customers realise and accept this. A strong body of evidence exists to suggest that not all corporate managers do.
I believe management will benefit from taking the time to find out just what are the values and Images of Achievement of the people who work with them. It is surprising just how often management can very easily deliver what people want – flexible working hours, or more responsibility, or accountability, or input into decisions, or simply to be listened to and given respect. A corporate values statement evolving from an honest appraisal of the needs of the human capital of an organisation will usually have those people positioned above the customer, and the sensible customer usually fully understands why.
Now, back to vision. When an organisation realises that its values can never be anything other than the collective values of its human capital, and proudly pronounces and lives by this fact, people can begin to realise their Images of Achievement within the organisation. In return they give loyalty, and the vision of the company is something that is understood and valued by everyone and not just senior management.
When that happens, even the sky cannot be considered the limit.
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