home Ideas Mission and Vision. Company vision What is a vision in a project proposal

Mission and Vision. Company vision What is a vision in a project proposal

Thinking about the birth of a child, we often imagine his life. What will it be like, how will we help it grow and develop. Who might become. So it is with the company - the founders often have an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat they want to see the company in the future. What it must become in a certain number of years to justify its existence. This is the Vision.

With this article, we continue the story about the elements of corporate philosophy.

Company vision. Why a company vision?

The ability to create an attractive image of the goal is one of the qualities of leaders and successful entrepreneurs.

Vision is a picture of the future, the main goal that the company is striving for. This is a formulation that incorporates the aspirations of the founders and employees of the company (often the Vision is formulated with the involvement of employees).

Vision is closely related to. If the Mission conveys the meaning of the existence of the company and the principles by which it operates, then the Vision describes the state in which the company should find itself - the ideal goal.

The Mission is more stable than the Vision, which can change more often. And this is normal: a person, for example, rarely changes completely personally. But his priorities and goals may change. So it is with the company: Vision can change more often (goals are sometimes achieved), Mission changes less often and insignificantly.

Vision Examples

All examples of Visions for companies (and people) below are taken from open sources in different time. Some of the wording may have changed.

Henry Ford This is how he formulated the Vision of his business:

I will build a car that is accessible to a great many people. Its price will be so low that any person with a good wages, will be able to buy such a car and, together with his family, enjoy blessed hours of relaxation in the vast open spaces of God ... When I complete this undertaking, everyone will be able to afford to have a car and will have one. Horses will disappear from our roads, and we will give work and good earnings a large number of people.

Walt Disney about a brand new amusement park:

The concept of Disneyland is simple. This is a place where people find happiness and learn new things. This is a place where parents and children enjoy spending time together; a place where teachers and students open great opportunities knowledge and learning. There, the elderly can satisfy their nostalgia for the past, and the young can enjoy the challenges of the future. There, for everyone to see and study, the wonders of Nature and the wonders created by Man will be presented ... Disneyland will be a little bit of a fair, and an exhibition, and a playground, and a community center, and a museum of living facts, and a place where you can see the beauty and magic. It will absorb the achievements, joys and hopes of the world in which we live. And he will remind and show us how to make all these miracles a part of our lives.

Become a world leader in chemical and digital imaging.

General Electric

Become the most competitive company in the world, come first or second in each of our areas of activity.

The vision can be very specific, defining the technical side of the company's functioning, such as:

Motorola

Motorola dreams of a world where phone numbers are assigned to people, not places; in which small, palm-sized devices allow people to keep in touch with each other, wherever they are; in which new media can convey visual images and data as easily as voices.

Our Vision: Billions of computers connected to the Internet, millions of servers, trillions of dollars in e-commerce revenue.

How the Vision of the company is formulated

The vision is formulated as if it had already begun - an affirmative formulation. Questions that Vision can answer:

What will the organization look like in the future?
When exactly will she be like this?
Which way did she go to become like this?

Vision requires visionary thinking. A feature of visionary thinking is the lack of reliance on the experience of the past. Vision is never built from the past. Vision "dictates" what changes should take place in the present. Otherwise, it will not have the energy that creates motivation for a qualitative leap or innovation.

In projects to develop elements of corporate philosophy, we help our clients to go beyond the usual, operational, thinking. Game methods, visualization and foresight technologies work here.

Shall we formulate a Vision?

The vision of the company should not be formulated for the sake of beautiful phrase on the corporate website. If your corporate culture does not take a strategic approach, there are only short-term goals. Or the external environment is so changeable that it requires constant response.

Also, one should be careful when developing a Vision for a holding structure, where it is impossible to single out a goal that unites all parts.

Every leader periodically has a need to stop and look around, rethink what is happening, analyze the results of activities, plan the future.

As a rule, this happens when the goals facing the company, or the management methods used previously, become irrelevant in the new conditions. There is a need for change.

Many people think that it is necessary to start change by defining the desired future. But, moving along this path, you can only “draw” a beautiful dream, and not realistic goals. Goals designed out of touch with reality are like castles built on sand.

“Vision without action is a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”

Japanese proverb

ORGANIZATIONAL DIAGNOSIS

In order to formulate ambitious but realistic long-term goals and a plan to achieve them, it is necessary first of all to assess the "health" of the organization.

A comprehensive analysis of all the problems facing the organization, and available opportunities for improvement, is critical to the long-term success of senior management's efforts to develop the company.

The data collected during the diagnostic process makes it possible to identify those aspects of the company's work that require improvement, and also allows you to develop an action plan that eliminates not only the symptoms, but also the root causes of the identified problems.

DEVELOPING THE MISSION AND VISION

Mission clarifies main goal the existence of the enterprise. The vision also defines the purpose of the organization, but focuses on the objectives and aspirations. It's designed to inspire. Vision is timeless: Even if an organization realigns its strategy, the vision must remain the same.

Mission- This is a business concept that reflects the purpose of the business, its main goal. In contrast to the vision, the mission characterizes only the “real” of the organization: the type, scope of activities, differences from competitors, ignoring the prospects for business development. The mission details the status of the enterprise and provides guidance for the development of goals and strategies at various organizational levels.

The mission is what the company exists for, and the vision is the future image of the company. Without determining the direction of business development, it is impossible to explain the essence of the activity.

The mission explains the essence of the activity, the specifics of the business and the way the company develops - everything that distinguishes this company from the rest in this industry.

Sometimes companies mistakenly define mission as making a profit. However, profit is the goal and result of the company's activities. The fact that a company seeks to make a profit says nothing about in what area and how the profit is created. If a company declares that its goal is to make a profit, it still needs to be explained how it achieves this goal. This explanation is the mission of the company.

As a rule, people formulate the mission and vision at the stage of creating an organization. However, this does not prevent you from creating a separate mission for each project, division, or initiative.

The formulation of the mission contributes to the solution of the following management problems:

First, the mission forces managers to systematically engage in a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses organization and its competitors, opportunities and threats, which increases the validity of strategic decisions.
Secondly, in the case of large companies, the mission contributes to the integration of local organizational units into a single whole, staff motivation and more effective interaction between managers and subordinates at various levels.
Thirdly, good mission contributes to the projection of a rational and positive image of the company on business partners, shareholders, investors, from whom various forms and degree depends on the fate of the enterprise.

The mission statement contains a description of three elements:

Buyer's needs, i.e. what needs to be satisfied.
Buyer groups, i.e. who will be the object of service.
Actions, technology and knowledge, i.e. how a company creates and distributes customer value and meets the needs of its customers.

Mission examples:

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Pharmaceuticals) - "Find, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients beat serious illnesses."
ConocoPhillips (Gas/Energy) - "Our mission is to advance all of civilization."
Nike (sporting goods) - "Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world."
Dow Chemical Company (Chemicals) - "Innovate at the intersection of chemistry, biology and physics."

How to formulate a mission?

Step 1: Find an idea that will lead you to victory.

First, determine the winning strategy and unique trade offer. Generally speaking, this is an approach to work that distinguishes your company from competitors, the reason why customers will contact you.

Step 2: Specify the goal.

Next, you need to make a list of tasks that need to be solved in order to achieve your goal. For example, if your winning strategy is to create innovative products in a particular industry, define a set of steps to implement it. If your idea is to provide a high level of customer service, then define key indicators customer satisfaction. It is not necessary to consider specific figures, it is important to have general idea on the criteria for success.

Next, combine winning ideas and solutions into a common but measurable goal. Briefly state the mission statement, which expresses your ideas, objectives and desired result. Make sure it's short, simple, clear and doesn't use professional jargon, the language should be inspiring, don't get carried away with complicated phrases.

Vision of the organization- this is a figurative representation of the meaning of activity and prospects (future) of the organization. It explains and demonstrates to all employees and the public what the organization is, what it should become and what it aspires to be.

Shaping a vision is one of the tasks of top management. Vision horizon, i.e. the period of remoteness in time of the formed image of the enterprise can be different, from several months to several years.

The vision refers only to the future: it loses its relevance when the desired state of the organization is reached and must be formulated again.

The vision statement should be concise, dynamic, easy to understand (often a slogan) and meet the following requirements: inspiring, simple as a memory or image, credible, and provide guidance that can serve as a basis for developing a strategy.

Building a strategic vision starts with creation of three its main components:

The mission of the company, which determines the position and business of the company at the moment.
A long-term course developed on the basis of the mission and determining the strategic path of the company.
A clear formulation of the strategic vision to gain broad support from all employees of the company.

Vision examples:

Amazon (online retail) – “Our mission is to be the most customer-centric company on earth. With us, people find and discover everything they want to buy online...at the lowest prices."
Amnesty International ( non-profit organization) - "Our mission is to build a world in which every person - regardless of age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity - enjoys all the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other internationally recognized human rights standards."
IKEA ( retail sales) - "Improve the daily lives of many people."

How to formulate a vision?

Step 1: Find value for people.

You need to unlock real value for people. For example, how will your organization improve people's lives? How can you improve the whole world?

Step 2: Consider the benefits.

Then, consider these desires in terms of the benefits that can be derived from their satisfaction.

Examples of values: excellence, integrity, teamwork, originality, equality, honesty, freedom, service, and strength.

Step 3: Combine mission and value.

Combine all the received thoughts into one competent formulation. This may take a long time, but it is necessary to carefully hone the proposal, because this is a matter of obtaining customers, and therefore profits.

ORGANIZATIONAL GOAL SETTING

Goals- the end result, the desired result that any organization seeks to achieve. Goals should be realistically achievable and answer the questions: what do we want to achieve? Who will do it? When will we get the result? Why do we need it?

Setting goals translates the theoretical part - the development of a strategic vision and the direction of the company's development - into the plane of practical application.

Guidelines in the activities of the company are only goals that are defined in quantitative or measurable terms and contain specific values that need to be achieved.

Long-term goals determine the strategic intention of the enterprise to take a certain place in the business. The definition of overall long-term goals is required for each key result that managers consider important to achieve success and create corresponding competitive advantage organizations.

The seven key spaces in which an organization defines long-term goals are:

Market position. Market goals can be gaining leadership in a certain market segment, increasing the organization's market share to a certain size.
Innovation. Targets in this area are associated with the definition of new ways of doing business: the development of new markets, the use of new technologies or ways of organizing production.
Marketing. The main results of activities in this area can be coming out on top in the sale of a certain product, creating a certain image for the product, improving customer service.
Production. In this case, the priority goals are to achieve top performance labor, improving the quality of the product, reducing production costs compared to the main competitors.
Finance. The overall goal is to preserve and maintain required level all kinds financial resources and their rational use.
Personnel Management. Personnel goals may be related to the preservation of jobs, ensuring an acceptable level of remuneration, improving working conditions and motivation.
Management. A key goal in this area is to identify critical areas of managerial influence.

The goals of the organization must have a number of characteristics, which are sometimes called the criteria for the quality of the goals.

Main characteristics (criteria) of the goal:

specificity and measurability. By expressing goals in clear, measurable terms, management creates the basis for decision making and evaluation of progress.
planning horizon. Allocate long-term (planning horizon more than 5 years), medium-term ( planning period 1 to 5 years) and short-term (usually within a year) goals. The narrower the planning horizon, the more specifically the goal should be expressed.
Reachability. Goals are set so that they do not exceed the capabilities of the enterprise. Setting unattainable goals blocks the desire of employees for success and reduces work motivation.
Consistency. Actions and decisions necessary to achieve one goal should not interfere with the achievement of others.

Insufficient attention to the process of setting goals or, conversely, setting unattainable goals is detrimental to the organization.

Achieving strategic goals is necessary to strengthen the competitiveness and position of the company in the market in the long term.

In conclusion, we note that to form the mission, vision and goals of the company, use the format joint work in which all decisions are made with active participation, full understanding and support key managers who will have to implement these decisions, which will make the required changes faster and more efficiently.

Contact the Sales Academy and we will hold a strategic session for you, where together with you we will formulate a mission and vision, and develop an effective strategy for your company.

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The activity of an organized project management team is a system of actions united by a common goal and directed to the subject area of the project 1 . The vision of the project perspective is the foundation on which not only its manager, but also the members of the project team, as well as other project participants build their approaches to the project. This is a picture of the state of the project, which can be achieved in the distant future under the most favorable circumstances and to which the aspirations of its participants are directed. A vision is usually the result of a mental movement from the known to the unknown, creating the future by assembling known facts, hopes, dreams, given dangers and opportunities.

The project manager must have a clear vision of the project perspective, as well as the determination, leadership and professional skills, and creativity in order to lead the project team and staff towards the realization of the vision. Vision formulation allows approaches to be presented in a clear and concise manner. The content of the vision is a written statement of views on key elements chosen strategy 2 .

Project mission

The role of the mission is to orient people who perceive the project from the outside and from the inside in a single direction. In a broad sense, the mission is the philosophy, purpose, meaning of the existence of the project.

The philosophy of the project rarely changes and defines the values, beliefs and principles in accordance with which the project participants intend to carry out their activities.

The purpose defines the activities that the project participants intend to carry out, and may vary depending on the depth of possible changes in the project and its environment.

The meaning of the existence of the project is to satisfy the needs and expectations of the consumer of the project result as fully as possible, while balancing the interests of the project participants and public interests.

The fundamental difference between a vision and a mission is that a vision is an ideal “picture” of the future state of affairs that the project participants are striving for, while a mission reveals a course of action.

The mission, to a greater or lesser extent, should reflect the interests of the project participants, as well as the subjects that make up its near and far environment, therefore it is developed taking into account:

the existing style of behavior and mode of action of the project participants;

resources that can be put into action to achieve the goals;

states external environment project;

distinctive features of a particular project.

The mission of the organization, as a formulated statement, is developed by the project participants, who are empowered to make decisions. Usually the mission is formulated in two versions. The short version of the mission consists of two or three sentences - the brand slogan of the project, aimed at creating a well-defined image of the project (for example, honesty and openness, work in a single team, free exchange of information).

The extended version of the mission is developed for internal use and should disclose in detail all the necessary aspects of the mission, such as targets, philosophy, opportunities and methods for implementing the project, its results, and the like.

The mission becomes effective only when the project participants internally agree with it and follow its provisions in their activities. Therefore, it is very important that the mission is formulated as clearly and understandably as possible for all project participants; excluded the possibility of ambiguous interpretation; left room for creative and flexible development of thought; did not contain specific instructions on what, how and in what time frame should be done.

The content of the mission should not depend on the current state of affairs, as it expresses the aspiration to the future, showing where efforts will be directed and what values will be priority. So, it is not customary to indicate profit as the main goal of the project. A correctly defined mission, although it always has a general philosophical meaning, necessarily carries something that makes a particular project unique.

It involves the definition of those key qualitative and quantitative indicators that the project will achieve in the future. Strategic vision allows you to seek and find answers to the question "What will change when the project is completed?" In addition, the vision helps the subjects of the external environment (partners, contractors, etc.) to assess the intentions design organization regarding its further actions and behavior in the business environment, as well as to predict the prospects for the development of relationships and form requirements for responsibility for decisions made.
Mission, vision and strategic goals the project is recommended to be developed on the basis of a SWOT analysis:
Strong - strength (advantages that give additional features, competitive attractiveness of the project);
Weak - weakness (the absence of something important for the functioning of the project, something that fails in comparison with others or puts in unfavorable conditions);
Opportunity - opportunities (favorable conditions that give a chance to do something new: create New Product, service, implement new technology etc.);
Trouble - threats (what can cause damage, deprive significant benefits: risks, force majeure, etc.)
Example 2. The mission of Herzen University in the program strategic development for 2006-2010
"Mission of the Herzen University in modern conditions, reflecting the core values of the new meaning of university education, which is characteristic of the beginning of the third millennium, and the best traditions of Russian education, orients the Herzen team towards building the university as a space for the vital self-determination of Man in all the diversity of its manifestations in modern cultural practice.