Chapter 11

The Power of Vision, Purpose and

Mission Statement

Introduction

Vision, purpose and mission are very powerful motivators

among individuals in the organization. Martin Luther Kings,
I have a dream did not only talk about rights, equality and
freedom. He painted word pictures so his audience could
see and feel them. He talked of his view from the mountain.
He visualized the promised land. He described black
children and white children playing together and black
people and white people living in harmony. His audience
could see the pictures and feel their significant impact in
the organization.

Purpose of a Vision Statement

According to Anthony DSouza (1993), a vision statement

should reflect the following:
1. Pictures of the promise land
2. Sounds a clarion call
3. Lights a flame
4. Provides visible evidence
5. Stands as a visible reminder
6. Declares the standard

 According to R.K. Greenleaf (1977), a powerful vision,

therefore is:
1. A mental picture
2. What do we really want?
3. An image of how we see our purpose or mission
4. A compass
A vision statement must be:
5. clear, simple and easy to communicate
6. Challenging and compelling

Motivational Power of Vision Statement

A vision statement may be expressed in a captivating way.

Warren Bennis (1993) wrote in his books on Leaders:
If there is a spark of genius in the leadership function at
all, it must lie in this transcending ability, a kind of
magic, to assemble-out of all the variety of images,
signals, forecasts and alternatives a clear articulated
vision of the future that is at once simple, easily
understood, clearly desirable, and energizing.

A vision must be simple, comprehensible and motivating.

For example:
1. President F.W. de Klerk of South Africa opened a prison
door and gave all South Africans hope for place with
justice in their troubled land.
2. Pope John Paul ll gave a captivating vision of forgiveness
simply by visiting the man who had shot him in a prison
cell in Rome.
3. Mother Teresa, through the simple power of love,
compassion and service.
4. Mahatma Gandhi of India, was the embodiment of peace
and non-violence.

There practices were adopted by:

1. Lech Walesa, who changed the course of Polish
and international history with the weapons of
courage and integrity.
2. Nelson Mandela, who was highly focused on the
basic issue of his demand for one person, one
vote.
Here are some one-liners that have
dramatically changed history:
3. For Gods Greater Glory
4. We will overcome
5. Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!
6. Workers of the World, Unite!

Developing The Vision

One corporation described is visioning process as follows:

1. Select your mountain climb.
2. Ensure it is the right one.
3. Check why you want to climb it.
4. Work out what you need to do.
5. Decide how you are going to do.
6. And when you are going to start.

VISION AND THE ORGANIZATION'S HISTORY

Vision - should always grow out of the history of

the organization. And while history should not
determine vision, if it is ignored, the vision will not
be adequately understood and fully shared by all.
COMMUNICATING THE VISION
In order to gain commitment throughout the
organization ,even a vision requires effective
communication. Because communication can
sharpen ,embody ,and help enact that vision.
Communicating the vision to all key personnel is
very important. To build a great corporation ,"
takes endless articulation and reinforcement of

FORMULATING A VISION

A vision is a portrait of the future to which people can

commit .It is the articulation of values. It empowers and
inspires people to do a job and to contribute ideas or
actions beyond themselves.
IMPORTANCE OF THE PURPOSE AND MISSION
STATEMENT
The purpose and mission statement tells the world why
you and your team are making the effort to act and to
succeed. It identifies the motivation for your organization's
actions.

In order that the statement shall be a useful to others. Here

are some important point to remember.

1. Clarity of the mission - requires that leaders come to a

basic agreement o what is important since a clear mission
is the foundation for strategic decisions.
2. Uniqueness of the mission - differentiates the organization
from other similar ones.
3. Communication of the mission - reduces inevitable
internal conflicts about department " turf " or about use of
resources and clarifies the rationale behind any changes.

Set of criteria for an effective mission statement:

1. BRIEF in order to be memorable and remembered.
2. CONCRETE rather than abstract and easy to understand.
3. UPLIFTING to reach into the future and reflect the
present.
4. SPECIFIC to identify your intent of service or
responsibility.

DEVELOPING THE MISSION STATEMENT

Involving people, particularly senior personnel in

developing and updating the organizations mission
is the best way to gain their commitment.
Steps to determine a mission statement by A.D
Souza:
1. The Top-Management Team it must come to an
agreement on their own sense of mission for the
organization.
2. Middle-Management is the key to promoting and
managing the mission. A mission from the top in
itself will be useless unless middle managers feel
they can own it and have an opportunity to

COMMUNICATING THE MISSION

After developing your purpose-and-mission statement, plan

how you will share it and how you will use it. Every member
of the organization has the responsibility for the
accomplishment of the mission.
The best means for focusing awareness of mission within
the organization are through visits by senior managers, by
conferences or by routine chats. There are the most
important and credible means of communicating the
mission or reminding people of it.

Whatever is done to communicate the mission, it must:

1. Be obviously sincere.
2. Contain emotion.
3. Be mentioned frequently.
Other ways of communicating the mission of the
organization that found very useful are:
4. Publishing it on the brochures and perhaps the
letterhead and business card.
5. Making it clearly visible at the entrance of your building.
6. Posting it on bulletin-boards in conference rooms and
other areas.
7. Placing it as the lead page for strategic planning
documents and operational-planning documents.

5. Encouraging division or department heads to develop

their own mission statements that support the overall
mission of the organization.
6. Reviewing the mission periodically and updating it when
necessary.
SETTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
.Once you have clarified the purpose and mission of your
organization, you must decide what are the major goals
and objectives that will help accomplish it.
.Goals are broad long term strategic plans of what you
want to accomplish. They must be both realistic and
challenging.

 Objectives are more technical and spell out specific timebound activities that must be undertaken and met in order to
achieve your goals
Goals and Objectives pin down what will be accomplished,
when and by whom.
A corporate strategic plan with measurable goals and
objectives for the entire organization and specific action
plans for each unit and each individual where applicable
must be developed.
Goals and objective define the end result the organization
wants to achieve within the given timeframe. Here are some
differences between the mission and goals/objectives:

MISSIONS

Broad, General
Not measurable, not
quantifiable
No timeframe, No
deadline
Fairly Comprehensive

GOALS/OBJECTIVES

Clear, specific
Measurable, nearly always
quantifiable
Definite timeframe. Clear
deadline
Significant priorities only