Overview

No self-respecting organisation these days is complete without its vision statement, although writing a statement and having a sense of vision for the whole enterprise are not always the same thing. An organisation can have a clear sense of purpose, communicated to all, without a written vision statement: it is also possible to have a vision statement that is full of good words but does not derive from any clarity of purpose or direction. In fact it is very difficult to judge a vision statement from what is put on paper: whether noble words are motivating truths or empty platitudes depends more on what the organisation does than what it says.

There are semantic problems. What one person calls a vision, another may decide is a mission statement. Hamel and Prahalad ^[1] as we saw in Chapter 1, argued that what was needed was strategic intent, a term which has caught the imagination of some. They define this as an obsession with winning over a long period. The quote clarifies this:

On the one hand strategic intent envisions a desired leadership position and establishes the criterion the organisation will use to chart its progress. Komatsu set out to 'encircle Caterpillar'. Canon sought to 'Beat Xerox', Honda strove to become a second Ford - an automotive pioneer. All are...