Strange bedfellows: vision and culture

"...the last thing IBM needs right now is a vision."
- Lou Gerstner, former CEO, IBM

So many times in business we hear about the vision thing - the aspirational statement meant to inspire an entire organization while focusing every interested stakeholder to believe in the future. Visions, as we all know, are very important, particularly in a time of great distraction and cynicism. Done right - meaning integrated into an enterprise's business strategy, management model and operations - visions can move people to transform an entire industry, let alone a company.

However, visions oftentimes are not worth the parchment they're written on. A key reason is that a vision needs to respect organizational culture. Visions that don't take into consideration the talent, processes, systems, policies, management practices, under-the-radar dynamics as well the workforce's current perceptions will never have a chance at success. That's because culture is the great equalizer when it comes achieving long term goals.

"Culture is a little like dropping Alka-Seltzer into a glass of water - you don't see it, but somehow it does something."
- Hans Magnus Enzensberger, German author/poet

Culture is what allows a CEO's agenda to be fulfilled or vilified. If not cognizant of a company's culture, visions will be pitted against it, frantically fighting to gain legitimacy. In major successful corporate change efforts, vision and culture find a common middle ground respecting the importance that each brings to achieving success.

Using a sports analogy, the vision for the football team, Oakland Raiders, is to be "committed to excellence." The reality is the organization lacks the personnel, not to mention the appetite, to truly gain such prominence (i.e., the Super Bowl) and put an end to its dismal performance over the last decade.

The Three Dimensions to Achieving Vision
An effective model for determining the relationship between vision and culture is to the plot your organization's journey as follows:

Current State
Where are we?

>

Future State (Vision)
Where do we want to go

>

Real State
Where can we go?

By delving into each of the three dimensions, a clearer picture emerges as to just how much change and progress can be be actually achieved toward your vision. While the first two dimensions are well-known and practiced, it's the third dimension that's not taken into account when planning both a business strategy and its corresponding strategic communications plan. The third dimension explores the company's elasticity, how well it can adapt to change and how well it can deal with new ideas and new thinking. It can begin to shine a light on specific areas to address or to leverage as part of moving the organization forward.

The next time you're asked to provide counsel and/or a program to support a new vision, a new strategy or a change initiative, you might find the model above to be a very useful tool in balancing the future with the present, avoiding the pitfalls and frustrations that accompany the usual myopic approach.

Gary

New Memo to Management – What’s Your Company’s “Communications Standard”?

Check out our most recent Memo to Management publication, which provides guidance on developing your company’s communications standards and highlights key benefits of doing so, including:

• Establishing a regular cadence of communications to ensure employees are working against the right priorities

• Driving employee engagement by involving leaders and employees at all levels in open and interactive discussions that respect different perspectives

• Developing protocols to support managers in communicating consistent messages across different parts of the organization

Posted by Shook Yee Teh

RSVP now for 2009 Summit

Edelman Change and Employee Engagement's best practices summit is Tuesday, December 1. Now in its fourth year, this annual event brings together communications professionals, business executives and academics from world-class organizations to learn from each other.

This year's theme is "The New Imperative: Tough Times Demand Fresh Thinking." We'll be Webcasting live from Edelman's New York City office, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. ET.

There is no cost to attend if you join via Webcast. Participants need only cover their travel-related expenses should they attend in person.

Click here to RSVP by email. Or, call Jennifer Russell at 212.704.4504 as soon as possible to confirm your attendance or to ask questions.

A full agenda is coming soon; in the meantime, check out last year's Summit here.