1. Creating Vision and Strategic Direction
Chapter 13
Creating Vision and Strategic Direction

2. Strategic Leadership
The ability to anticipate and envision the future, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and initiate changes that will create a competitive advantage for the organization in the future

3. Ex. 13.1 The Domain of Strategic Leadership
Vision
Mission
Purpose?
Strategy
Architecture for alignment and implementation

4. Vision
An attractive, ideal future that is credible yet not readily available
Links the present to the future
Energizes people and garners commitment
Gives meaning to work
Establishes a standard of excellence and integrity

5. Ex. 13.2 Examples of Brief Vision Statements (selected)
Motorola
Become the premier company in the world
Ritz-Carlton (Amelia Island) Engineering Dept.
Where no hotel has gone before – free of all defects
Johnson Controls Inc.
Continually exceed our customers’ increasing expectations
New York City Transit
No graffiti
Egon Zehnder
Be the worldwide leader in executive search

6. Ex. 13.3 The Nature of the Vision
Moving toward a desired future
Staying the course
Current reality

7. Common Themes of Vision
Vision has broad appeal
Vision deals with change
Vision encourages faith and hope
Vision reflects high ideals
Vision defines the destination and the journey

8. Good leaders give up the idea that vision emanates from only the top
Self-reference: A principle stating that each element in a system will serve the goals of the whole system when the elements are imprinted with an understanding of the whole.
Good leaders give up the idea that vision emanates from only the top
“My job, fundamentally, is listening to what the organization is trying to say, and then making sure it is forcefully articulated”
WSJ Article: Truth Telling Culture

9. The organization’s core broad purpose and reason for existence
Mission
The organization’s core broad purpose and reason for existence

10. Strategic Management Strategic Management Strategy
The set of decisions and actions used to formulate and implement specific strategies that will achieve a competitively superior fit between the organization and its environment so as to achieve organization goals
Strategy
The general plan of action that describes resource allocation and other activities for dealing with the environment and helping the organization attain its goals

11. Core Competence
Something the organization does extremely well, even uniquely well, in comparison to competitors

12. Synergy and Value
Synergy: the interaction of organizational parts to produce a joint effect that is greater than the sum of the parts
Value: the combination of benefits received and costs paid by the customer

13. Strategy Formulation and Implementation
The integrating knowledge of the environment, vision, and mission with the core competence in such a way as to achieve synergy and create customer value
Strategy Implementation
Putting strategy into action by adjusting various parts of the organization and directing resources to accomplish strategic goals

14. Ex. 13.7 Making Strategic Decisions
Ease of Implementation
Hard
Easy
High Impact, Hard to Implement.
Major changes, but with potential for high payoff
High Impact, Easy to Implement.
Simple changes that have high strategic impact – take action here first
High
Strategic Impact
Low Impact, Hard to Implement.
Difficult changes with little or no potential for payoff – avoid this category
Low Impact, Easy to Implement.
Incremental improvements, “small wins;” pursue for symbolic value of success
Low

15. Ex. 13.8 Linking Strategic Vision and Strategic Action
High
The Dreamer
The Effective Leader
Vision
The Uninvolved
The Doer
Low
High
Low
Action