Category: Strategy

Posted on

Ep 19 – Enduring the Messy Stages of Strategic Planning

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit longtermstrategy.substack.com

Your company is in the middle of a strategic planning project. Things are going according to plan but there are several competing schools of thought about the future of the organization.

In discussions, voices are being raised as competing ideas are shared. You are beginning to feel nervous because the opinions cannot be reconciled easily. Should you intervene or allow it to run its course, even though things are looking like a mess?

Tune into this episode to hear from me and my special guest, Chris Fox, as we tackle this wicked problem together.

I’m Francis Wade and welcome to the JumpLeap Long-Term Strategy Podcast.

Here is a video of the excerpt from this episode, for free subscribers.

To watch the full episode, join JumpLeap as a subscriber. This supports the work I’m doing on long-term strategic planning. It appears below the Subscribe signup box.

JumpLeap Long-Term Strategic Planning is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Posted on

Three Horizons for Strategic Thinking: A Guide for Long-Term Planning Advocates

As a proponent of long-term thinking in your company, you’ve likely encountered resistance. You may feel isolated, struggling to articulate the value of strategic foresight to colleagues focused on immediate concerns. This guide aims to provide you with a framework to effectively communicate the importance of long-term strategic planning (LTSP) and engage others in this crucial mindset. The Challenge of Long-Term Thinking You’ve probably experienced this scenario: In a meeting, you highlight a future your colleagues can’t see. The potential long-term consequences seem obvious to you. Unfortunately, your team, preoccupied with urgent problems, lacks the energy to consider your strategic viewpoint. They opt for the quick satisfaction of immediate resolutions. Afterwards, you realize that fundamental issues remain unaddressed. It feels like you’re only discussing surface-level solutions without questioning the underlying approach. If this resonates with you, you’re not alone. Many forward-thinking professionals struggle to convey the importance of LTSP. But there’s a way to bridge this gap and bring others into long-term thinking: the Three Horizons Framework by Curry, Hodgson and Sharpe. Horizon 1: Understanding the Decay of Current Offerings Every organization provides value through its products or services. However, it’s crucial to recognize that these offerings have a limited lifespan. Each day brings you closer to the point where your current solutions become obsolete. Consider the photography industry. Until the 2000s, companies like Kodak and Fuji thrived selling film. Today, the average consumer has no interest in this product. This decay in demand is a universal truth in business, illustrated by the following curve:
The key question is: How long will your current strategic fit last? As an LTSP advocate, you’ve likely considered this. Now, you have a visual representation to share with your colleagues, helping them grasp this concept more easily. Horizon 3: Recognizing Future Opportunities While managing current operations is crucial, it’s equally important to look for signs of future trends. These “faint signals” can be found in emerging technologies, evolving customer needs, new regulations, environmental changes, and various other areas. By paying attention to these signals, your team can craft narratives about potential futures. This foresight defines the third horizon:
Many companies overlook these disruptors by failing to plan far enough ahead. As an LTSP proponent, you can encourage your team to do more than passively observe these changes. Instead, position your organization to influence and shape these future scenarios. Horizon 2: Bridging Present and Future To transition from current offerings to future opportunities, your organization needs a bridge – this is Horizon 2:
These are initiatives that may not represent your ultimate vision but serve as stepping stones towards it. Developing these transition strategies is best done in strategic planning retreats, where all departments can contribute their insights. Integrating the Three Horizons When effectively implemented, the Three Horizons Framework allows your organization to manage current operations, develop transition strategies, and prepare for future scenarios simultaneously:
This integrated approach demonstrates how long-term imperatives can and should inform immediate actions. Conclusion: Empowering Long-Term Strategic Planning By using the Three Horizons Framework, you now have a powerful tool to illustrate the importance of long-term thinking to your colleagues. This approach allows you to: 1. Visually represent the lifecycle of current offerings 2. Highlight the importance of future-focused initiatives 3. Demonstrate how to bridge present operations with future opportunities 4. Show how all these elements work together in a cohesive strategy Remember, you’re not alone in advocating for LTSP. Many successful organizations embrace this approach, recognizing that preparation for the future is key to long-term success. Use this framework to spark meaningful discussions about your company’s future. By doing so, you’re not just planning for tomorrow – you’re shaping it. Or learn more about the LeapOut approach and the detailed strategic planning framework we use with our clients.
Posted on

Strategy for Jamaican Sports Federations

You love your national sport. Seeing the Jamaican (or West Indian) flag soar above a global stage fires you up. But you also see that in football and cricket, we’ve fallen as a country. Could it be related to a lack of long-term thinking? When the West Indies men’s cricket team dominated the world in the 1980s and 90s, other countries envied them. They all tried to catch up, but Australia’s response was unique. They decided to invest in youth cricket like never before. Why? They recognized a long-term problem. Quick fixes wouldn’t solve it permanently. Fast forward a decade, and their success since then shows their planning at work. While we in the West Indies struggle to find talent, revive interest, and fix governance problems, Australian dominance continues. Simply put, they built a system to win international cricket. Meanwhile, the West Indies continues to fail, except for occasional successes. We get lucky sometimes and win, but those wins happen despite our system, not because of it. I’m not criticizing our setup; I’m not an expert. But if we learn from Australia’s long-term focus, can we apply it to our national football team? We Jamaicans got lucky and competed in the World Cup once, but a sustainable system is still missing there. More importantly, is there something our sporting federations can do differently in their planning? Here are three ideas if you’re part of one. 1. Pick a Target Year and Visualize First, set a planning horizon 10-30 years ahead, and name it your Target Year. Be careful; picking too close or too far has downsides. If you pick a year too close, it becomes selfish. You’ll be pushing aside future generations. Also, if you’re too aggressive with your short-term goals, others won’t believe you. As a result, they won’t take action. On the other hand, if you pick a year too far away, your plan could become irrelevant as soon as its developed. There won’t be enough urgency for stakeholders to respond. But the key is not just choosing the right year. The idea is to commit to milestones between now and your target date. These milestones should create the right mindset on a large scale. They should inspire people of all ages to make the sacrifices needed for world-class performance. After setting a Target Year, create a vivid vision or end-game. This isn’t just a vague “vision statement” but a numeric, measurable list of outcomes. Together, they describe your desired future. Within this space, generate up to three unique but alternative visions. Then, choose one. Many organizations make a big mistake by stopping here. 2. Strategize Backwards To connect your vision to reality, you need to backcast, or plan backward from your desired future to the present. As you do, you’ll correct two common anomalies. The first anomaly is that some of your initial, visionary outcomes are probably unrealistic, and some will be overly ambitious. The second anomaly is when the Target Year itself has to change to make the plan work. Don’t remove these anomalies randomly. Your team needs to find a careful balance between aspirations and reality. As such, this is a task for insiders and can’t be outsourced. If your team fails to achieve this balance, you’ll lose fan support. For example, if they sense that the planning team said yes to too many things without making tough choices, they may turn away. Your plan needs to make logical sense. 3. Build Social Support Sporting federations need widespread fan support, but the old way of “selling” your plan to people doesn’t work anymore. Instead, the modern approach is to involve fans in the process from the beginning. But this doesn’t mean filling a room with hundreds at every meeting. The key is to incorporate both divergent and convergent activities in your schedule. Divergent activities are invitations to gather more input. They benefit from broad participation. However, convergent activities involve making tough decisions using that same input. This is a consolidation step where you summarize and draw conclusions. Use both in a sort of dance, and you’ll bring your fans into your long-term thinking and the planning needed to achieve success in your sport.
Find out more regarding the LeapOut approach and the detailed strategic planning framework we use with our clients.
Posted on

Unveiling the Foundation: The Assumptions Behind Your Strategic Plan

In the realm of strategic planning, crafting a comprehensive roadmap for the future can be both exhilarating and daunting. Your team invests time, resources, and creativity to develop a plan that promises to revolutionize your industry and propel your organization to new heights. However, despite meticulous planning, unforeseen disruptions can quickly render your strategic aspirations obsolete. In such moments of uncertainty, understanding the underlying assumptions behind your plan becomes paramount. Here’s why: Recognizing the Transient Nature of Strategic Plans Strategic planning often conjures images of meticulously outlined steps and detailed implementation strategies. However, beneath the surface of these plans lie a myriad of assumptions – assumptions that shape the very foundation of your strategic vision. These assumptions emerge during intense brainstorming sessions, fueled by a blend of data, anecdotes, and expert opinions. Yet, amid the flurry of ideas and debates, it’s impossible to validate every assumption conclusively. Instead, strategic decisions are often based on a combination of informed judgment and intuition. To mitigate the risk of overlooking critical assumptions, it’s imperative to foster an environment of inclusivity and collaboration during planning sessions. By ensuring that all key stakeholders are actively engaged in the process, you can harness a diverse range of perspectives and insights, strengthening the foundation of your strategic plan. Capturing and Monitoring Assumptions One of the greatest challenges in strategic planning lies in effectively capturing and monitoring the underlying assumptions that underpin your plan. While participants may leave planning sessions with a sense of confidence in their strategy, the dynamic nature of business environments means that assumptions are subject to constant change. Without a mechanism to track these assumptions, your team may fail to recognize emerging trends or shifts in market dynamics until it’s too late. To address this challenge, consider implementing a strategy map – a visual representation of the cause-and-effect relationships between key assumptions and strategic objectives. This tool serves as a reference document, allowing your team to monitor the interconnectedness of assumptions and identify potential areas of vulnerability. Additionally, conducting regular “pre-mortem” exercises – where teams anticipate potential points of failure and weak assumptions – can help proactively mitigate risks and enhance strategic resilience. Preparing for Disruptions In today’s volatile business landscape, disruptions are not a matter of “if,” but “when.” Whether it’s a competitive threat, technological advancement, or regulatory change, your strategic plan must be robust enough to withstand unforeseen challenges. By embracing a mindset of preparedness and adaptability, your team can navigate turbulent waters with confidence. Encourage open dialogue and constructive dissent within your team, empowering individuals to challenge assumptions and explore alternative scenarios. By fostering a culture of resilience and agility, you can equip your organization to weather storms and seize opportunities amidst uncertainty. In conclusion, the success of your strategic plan hinges not only on its vision and objectives but also on the assumptions that underpin it. By acknowledging the transient nature of assumptions, capturing them effectively, and preparing for disruptions, you can enhance the resilience and effectiveness of your strategic planning efforts.
Discover more about the LeapOut approach and the detailed strategic planning framework we use with our clients.
Posted on

“Presencing”: A Game-Changing Leadership Practice

In the landscape of modern leadership, the days of simply issuing instructions are long gone. Leaders now face a workforce that demands more than just directives; they want to understand the “why” behind the tasks they’re given. This shift has created a challenge for managers: how to inspire and engage employees who may be more focused on self-preservation than organizational goals. Picture this: your worst performers seem content with minimal effort, trading their work for a paycheck with little enthusiasm. Meanwhile, your top talent, though skilled, is constantly eyeing the exit door, ready to jump ship at the first sign of trouble. It’s a delicate balance, and as a manager, you’re left wondering how to instill a sense of purpose and drive. Enter the concept of “presencing.” At its core, presencing is about influencing what is present for employees and, on a larger scale, for the entire organization. It’s about creating an environment where the company’s vision and strategic plans are not just words on paper but actively shaping the actions and decisions of every individual. Let’s dive deeper into how presencing can transform your workplace:

The Absent Vision Statement

Think about your organization’s vision statement. Before I asked, it probably wasn’t top of mind for you; it was “absent” in your thoughts. Now, imagine reading it aloud, perhaps to a colleague. Suddenly, it becomes a bit more present, more tangible. But how often is this vision truly present in your day-to-day operations? In meetings, discussions, and decision-making processes? For many organizations, the vision statement remains a distant concept, rarely brought to the forefront of daily activities.

Interventions by a Leader

In the past, a leader’s speech could rally the troops, inspiring action and commitment. Think of iconic figures like Winston Churchill or Martin Luther King Jr. Their words had the power to move nations. However, in today’s world of constant information overload, a traditional speech may fall flat. Employees are bombarded with messages from all directions, making it challenging to cut through the noise. So, how can a leader effectively engage their team? Look to interactive and engaging practices from everyday life. Consider the rituals of a Rotary Club meeting. The ringing of a bell, reciting pledges, and adhering to protocols all serve to create a sense of “Rotarian-ism” among members. It’s not just a routine; it’s a deliberate effort to make the organization’s values and mission come alive in every gathering. Churches, lodges, and even sports teams have their own rituals that serve a similar purpose. These practices may seem quirky to outsiders, but they play a vital role in instilling a shared identity and purpose. In Japanese companies, the daily “chorei” is a prime example. Employees come together for a formal greeting, recitation of the company motto, and sometimes even joint exercises. These rituals may seem simple, but they are powerful tools for creating a cohesive and aligned workforce.

Finding Your Organization’s Practices

The key takeaway is not to copy these practices verbatim but to find what works for your organization. What rituals, routines, or traditions can you introduce to make your vision and strategic plans more present in the minds of your employees? It could be something as simple as starting meetings with a reminder of the company’s mission or ending the day with a reflection on progress toward long-term goals. The goal is to create regular touchpoints that keep the vision alive and drive alignment across the organization. In conclusion, presencing is more than just a leadership buzzword; it’s a practical approach to making your organization’s vision a living, breathing reality. By finding ways to make your vision statement present in the day-to-day operations, you can inspire action, foster engagement, and drive your game-changing strategic plans forward.
Continue your learning. Here's the LeapOut approach and the detailed strategic planning framework we use with our clients.
Posted on

Charting Your Course: How a Faraway Future Shapes Your Present

As a leader, you navigate a relentless sea of deadlines and short-term goals. The pressure to be agile and decisive is immense. Yet, amidst the daily chaos, a powerful tool often gets neglected – the long-term vision. You might believe it’s a luxurious indulgence, a distant dream with little bearing on the here and now. But what if I told you that fostering a vision for a faraway future can have a profound impact on your company’s immediate performance?

Beyond the Transaction: Unlocking Deep Inner Motivation

Think about the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Many managers rely on the former – bonuses, commissions, and other forms of immediate rewards. These tactics can get results, but they fail to tap into the wellspring of human drive that lies beyond mere compensation.

Consider the most inspiring individuals you know. They may dedicate years to raising children, contribute to charity, or pursue long-term educational journeys. These actions highlight the power of delayed gratification, where the inherent value of the goal fuels sustained effort.

Unfortunately, most companies fall short of harnessing this power. When every task is framed as a transactional exchange – “I give you money, you give me work” – employees become conditioned to expect a tangible reward for every action. This transactional approach stifles intrinsic motivation, leaving them feeling uninspired and disengaged.

But imagine if you offered your team a chance to invest in their own futures, a future inextricably linked to the company’s success. Here, we’re not talking about vague pronouncements about “balanced sheets” or “customer benefits.” You need to co-create a compelling vision of the future, one that resonates with everyone on board.

Think about the GraceKennedy 2020 Vision and Vision 2030 Jamaica projects. These initiatives, crafted collaboratively with hundreds of people, charted a course spanning over two decades. Despite their extended timeframes, they demonstrably ignited immediate action.

In some companies, employees are so energized by their shared vision, they even volunteer to sell products on their own time. This illustrates the power of a long-term vision to motivate and inspire immediate action.

Navigating Storms with Purpose: Focus During Emergencies

In today’s volatile business landscape, agility and adaptability are crucial. You need a workforce that can respond swiftly to unforeseen challenges. However, relying solely on a reactive, adrenaline-fueled approach has its limitations. Chronic stress can lead to burnout, and a workplace solely focused on solving the immediate problem at hand lacks direction.

This is where a long-term vision steps in. It provides the necessary context that goes beyond simply “getting through the day” or “surviving the crisis.” It allows your employees to remain two-headed, addressing immediate challenges while keeping the long-term vision in sight.

Let’s use customer service as an example. Reactive customer service often prioritizes every single complaint, regardless of its validity. But a strategic vision, informed by a long-term perspective, can create a framework for prioritizing customers. Remember Michael Porter’s quote: “Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different.”

When your employees understand the invented future, it shapes each customer interaction as a strategic choice, not just an obligation. They can use the vision to guide their decisions, prioritizing interactions that align with the company’s long-term goals.

These are just a few examples of how a long-term vision can positively impact your immediate performance. A forward-looking vision acts as a test of your leadership clarity – the ability to inspire action today by painting a compelling picture of tomorrow. When you plant the seeds of a distant future, you cultivate a more engaged, motivated, and strategically focused workforce that can weather any immediate storm and navigate towards a brighter shared future.

This revised version maintains the use of the second person (“you”) while offering a more professional and engaging tone. It emphasizes concrete actions you can take and highlights the practical results of fostering a long-term vision.

Posted on

Inspiring Thin-Skinned Employees: Transforming Insults into Purpose

In the workplace, your employees can be remarkably sensitive. The slightest hint of bad news ignites a wildfire of rumors, fueled by the rapid spread of WhatsApp messages.

What you perceive as unproductive behavior is often the result of your interventions only addressing surface-level symptoms rather than the root causes. As soon as you tackle one popular complaint, another fresh grievance emerges to take its place, leaving you feeling like you’re trapped in a never-ending cycle.

To break free from this pattern, it’s essential to rethink your approach to addressing thin-skinned staff. Instead of merely treating the symptoms, consider these three strategies for fostering a more profound sense of purpose and inspiration among your employees.

Hurricane Heroics: Unleashing Extraordinary Potential

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, we often witness acts of everyday heroism. Neighbors who once refused to speak to one another put aside their differences and unite to overcome the shared challenge at hand. In the face of life-threatening disruptions, people tap into hidden reserves of resilience and compassion.

But what if this extraordinary energy and resolve could be harnessed within the workplace, without the need for a catastrophic event to occur?

The answer lies in understanding the powerful influence of the future on human behavior. When people have something significant to look forward to, they inherently act differently. The problem is that many employees have become jaded, expecting only disappointments and discomforts from the future. This negative mindset fuels their hypersensitivity, causing them to perceive every error as a personal slight.

However, what if this obsession with the future could be reframed as an opportunity rather than a hindrance? Perhaps their reactions stem from a genuine desire to care about the future, and there’s a way to channel this passion in a more constructive direction.

An Urgent, Inspiring Future: Harnessing the Power of Purpose

The ability to envision a return to normalcy is what empowers people to bounce back swiftly after a hurricane. This imagined future provides them with something to look forward to, uplifting and inspiring them even in the face of tremendous loss.

As they survey the wreckage, they help others find hope, moving themselves out of their comfort zones, taking risks, overcoming historical biases, forgiving debtors, sacrificing time, and donating money. In other words, they tap into their hidden reserves of discretionary resources to spend untapped treasure.

As an employer, witnessing this transformation in the same staff members who nearly went on strike over cafeteria lunches can be astonishing. However, instead of dismissing your people as unsolvable mysteries, it’s crucial to recognize their wider humanity. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, “Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”

Offering your staff a compelling “why” can be achieved by crafting a joint future that deviates from the default trajectory.

Your Company’s Peculiar Destination: Embracing Discomfort for a Greater Purpose

Most employees go through the motions, primarily concerned with their creature comforts and conveniences rather than anything else. In response, many managers become afraid to ask too much, habitually lowering their expectations to avoid conflict.

However, the reality is that they simply aren’t asking for enough.

Imagine a manager who asks their staff, “Are you OK?” each day. Eventually, someone musters the courage to respond, “No, I’m not.” The manager inquires about the issue, resolves the problem, but continues to ask the same question the next day, perpetuating a cycle of addressing surface-level concerns.

Now, consider a dramatic alternative: A manager convenes their staff to create a vivid picture of the department’s future – an invented future that goes well beyond business-as-usual. This joint aspiration becomes a win-win for all involved, instantly repelling those who are the most resistant while attracting the best employees who crave a greater sense of purpose.

It’s as if a metaphorical hurricane has swept through, igniting a shared desire to take extraordinary actions, even if they cause personal “discomfort.” This phenomenon was observed by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, who noted that those who found a “why” were more likely to survive the concentration camps. Additionally, Frankl stated:

“… mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish… Such a tension is inherent in the human being…”

“We should not, then, be hesitant about challenging man with a potential meaning for him to fulfill…What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.”

Unfortunately, prioritizing purpose over comfort is a concept rarely taught in classrooms. However, it offers managers a powerful tool to inspire and engage their employees. By crafting a shared vision of a future that transcends the mundane, you can tap into your staff’s innate desire for meaning, fostering a sense of urgency and determination that propels them beyond their perceived limitations.

In the face of adversity, people are capable of remarkable feats. As a leader, your role is to create an inspiring “why” that ignites the same level of passion and commitment, transforming insults and hypersensitivity into a relentless pursuit of a greater purpose.

Posted on

3 Whys to Embrace Long-Term Thinking

You are a leader, and are well aware that both private and public sector organizations must prioritize long-term thinking. As a result, you can immediately enumerate some of the main reasons.

However, there are persistent corporate issues that appear unrelated to long-term planning. Therefore, their sudden presence catches leaders off-guard. Failing to complete a long-term strategic plan can lead to three anticipated but uncommon issues.

1. Commitments at Cross-Purposes

Consider an organization that has invested substantial time and effort into crafting a meticulous three-year strategic plan. The document lays out clear goals, milestones, and performance indicators to work towards over that relatively short timeframe. However, when gazing further into the future, a lack of cohesion emerges among the executive team and board members. Each leader has their own personal vision for where the company should be in four, ten, or thirty years. But there is no consensus or shared strategic roadmap beyond the three-year horizon.

This divergence in perspectives can undermine decision-making processes. Without alignment on long-term direction, executives rely on their own criteria when charting the future course. The cumulative impact of this disjointed approach to leadership can be highly detrimental. It leads to missed opportunities, strategic missteps, and organizational stagnation or decline. Unified commitment to a long-term vision enables more focused decision-making and progress.

In addition to this problem, there is also a detrimental effect on the top issue that organizations often report in their strategic planning – the lackluster execution. In the absence of a long-term vision, perceptive executives often find themselves involuntarily holding back their support. Why?

They can tell that the commitment is superficial. And likely to shift in a moment. Hence, it is unnecessary to invest precious social capital, budget, and time into a fleeting plan that may have a 50% likelihood of being discarded.

  1. Missing Important Trends

I recently revisited Competing for the Future by Hamel and Prahalad, immersing myself once again in their groundbreaking insights. In this 1994 classic, they accurately foresaw the influence of emerging technologies.

It was quite interesting to note that they were mostly correct in their observations. Taking their predictions seriously would have allowed a company to establish a distinct competitive edge.

However, this is only one small section of the larger landscape. You may be familiar with the comprehensive PESTEL suite, which encompasses Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal/Regulatory factors. By only planning with a short-term horizon, companies fail to acknowledge the cumulative effects of gradual trends in all these areas simultaneously.

By doing so, they make themselves vulnerable to potential dangers. Additionally, they miss out on significant opportunities because they fail to consider the hidden possibilities.

For example, Apple had a visionary glimpse into the future, imagining a comprehensive ecosystem that revolved around their products, services, and the cloud. Most likely, they were in possession of the identical information as everyone else. What set it apart?

Around 2010, they devised a comprehensive plan that spanned a decade, gradually constructing a complete solution, piece by piece. From their near-collapse in 1997, they have risen to become one of the most valuable companies in the world today. In the face of an existential threat, they boldly seized an opportunity that came their way.

  1. Not Doing Succession Planning

Most organizations find it challenging to create succession plans. Why? Letting incumbents go unchallenged and accepting their perpetual rule is the easier option.

It’s only when you consider the long-term consequences that you realize the folly of this approach.

For example, it becomes evident that the necessary skills to navigate the company through upcoming transitions are lacking. A person nearing retirement may not be the most suitable candidate for tackling a new learning curve.

But that’s just scratching the surface. As soon as talented middle managers sense the lack of long-term direction, the sights of them browsing job listings and attending networking events become more frequent.

Over time, companies find themselves staffed by an ineffective majority, trapped in a state of stagnation. However, the situation takes a turn for the worse. Eventually, as the “last men standing”, members of this cohort receive promotions, even to the highest executive positions.

To prevent these three slow-moving disasters, your team must engage in strategic planning that integrates short and long-term perspectives.

Posted on

Ep 13 –  How to Convince Colleagues Your Company Needs a Long-Term Vision-Strategy

You are someone who is already a long-term thinker, working in a for-profit company. Unlike many, you don’t need to be convinced about the importance of long-term thinking. Somewhere early in the past – childhood, early career – you embedded the idea in your thinking. Now balancing short and long term thinking is a part of your character.

But this may be why you are confused. Others around you don’t share this trait. In fact, you feel like a fish out of water – always harping on the need for long-term thinking, sometimes asking inconvenient questions.

You can’t understand why others don’t share your concern. And it’s not that you are particularly ESG, sustainable or anything like. Nor do you come from an old-school. You sense that the company would make better decisions if it had more than the usual 3-5 year plan.

But how do you convince others in the C-Suite, and the board, to think with an additional lens? 

Tune into this episode as I tackle this wicked problem.

Listen to an Excerpt
Posted on

Choosing and Ranking Your Corporate Vision

Similar to most organizations, your company also has a vision or purpose statement. The initial idea was meant to ignite inspiration, but lately, it seems to have lost its allure. What interventions can you implement to foster a collaborative environment and encourage your staff to go above and beyond? And how does this statement support the goals outlined in your corporate strategy?

It is easy to comprehend the reasons for creating a compelling vision.

As we human beings look to the future, our imaginations run wild with the anticipation of what lies ahead, just beyond the corner. As such, while sitting at work on a Friday afternoon, we’re happy, feeling the anticipation of the weekend ahead.

By mid-day on Sunday, our energy levels plummet and a sense of unease settles in. Why? Monday looms ahead, and with it comes the familiar routine and the anticipation of the weekly grind.

Our psychology is wired to have an addictive tendency to anticipate what lies ahead. Sadly, this fact goes unnoticed by most individuals. The lack of understanding about the future, even among progressive companies, is the reason why social media has such a powerful draw for the average employee.

A company vision is management’s way of providing an alternative, and they offer five options to choose from.

1. **The Invisible Vision**: This form of vision exists solely within the mind of the company’s top leadership. While these individuals may be passionate about their vision, they fail to share it with the rest of the organization. Communication barriers or a desire to maintain control often lead to this secretive approach. As a result, employees are left in the dark, lacking a sense of direction and purpose.

In this first category, if no one besides the top leader knows where your organization is headed, it may be the case.

2. **The Vague Vision**: Perhaps the most common form, vague visions lack clarity and specificity. These statements are often found adorning office walls or buried within corporate documents. While they may sound lofty and inspirational, they fail to provide actionable guidance. Without clear goals and timelines, employees struggle to connect their daily tasks to the overarching vision, resulting in disengagement and apathy.

To determine if your company’s statement is vague, try this simple test. Reflect on whether a rational employee could perceive that the objective has already been fulfilled or is on the verge of completion. Is it done?

Additionally, is there a specific year associated with it? If the answers are simply “Yes” and “No”, it can be considered too vague, leaving room for people to only pay it lip-service.

Honestly…it would be more accurate to call it a slogan.

3. **The Squeezed-Up Vision**: In an attempt to avoid ambiguity, some organizations opt for short-term visions. However, these compressed timelines often lead to unrealistic expectations and limited scope. Employees may feel overwhelmed by the pressure to achieve short-term goals without a broader long-term perspective. As a result, motivation wanes, and morale suffers as employees become disillusioned with unattainable targets.

4. **The Strategy-Less Vision**: Even with clearly defined goals, a vision can falter without the support of a comprehensive strategic plan. In this scenario, organizations set ambitious targets but fail to provide a roadmap for achieving them. Without alignment between the vision and strategic objectives, employees are left to navigate uncertain terrain on their own. As a result, initiatives lack direction, resources are mis-allocated, and progress stalls.

But above all, they realize the groundwork has not been done because it fails to confront reality. As such, they believe the vision won’t be implemented.

On the flip side, there is:

**The Ideal Vision**: This represents the pinnacle of corporate visioning, combining clarity, inspiration, alignment, and engagement. An ideal vision is clear and concise, providing a roadmap for the organization’s future. It inspires passion and commitment among employees, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging. Moreover, it is aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives, ensuring that every action moves the company closer to its goals. Finally, it engages employees at all levels, soliciting their input and fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation.

In conclusion, the strength of a corporate vision lies in its ability to provide clear direction, inspire action, and drive meaningful progress. By understanding the various forms of corporate visions and striving for the ideal, organizations can chart a course for success in today’s dynamic business environment.