The questionable track record of vision and values

Most organization leaders can quote at least one example of failed vision and values. Front-line people gain vast amusement from platitudes emerging from the corridors of power after months of frenzied effort. They would recognize the cartoon in Chart 12.1

What proportion of vision and values programmes succeeds? This is a trick question because in order to answer it, you have to define 'success'. What is it? At best, you'd expect a clearer sense of direction, more motivated employees and more committed customers. At least you'd look for visible change in behaviour and approach to decisions. An acid test would be to visit the organization 3 years later, and check whether you can spot any differences.

Using these rough criteria, let's repeat the question. The honest answer is that no one seems to know. It's not too difficult for outsiders to tell how successful a company's new product programme is. And you can gauge the success of acquisition and merger programmes by looking at the trend of shareholder value. But the only people who really know whether a vision and values programme is working are company insiders, and insiders who talk to the outside world have a vested interest in claiming success.

The limited amount of research around is not encouraging. One source ^[1] reported that 60% of mission programmes failed to generate the expected benefits. Research ^[2] among 429...