1 note &
WWSD? Have a vision. That’s what.
I finally read and thoroughly enjoyed the incredibly well researched and written Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson over the holidays (#recommend). Aside from feeling nostalgia for my early days as a PR chick for Microsoft and having the rumors confirmed that Steve was bat shizzle crazy, I was very inspired by his vision for Apple and how he used it to drive the company.
Steve’s vision for Apple was: To make a contribution to the world by making tools for
the mind that advance humankind. While it took him a while to figure out the right execution, and I don’t agree with all of his management “techniques”, he let his vision guide his company’s mission, strategy and prioritization of projects to become the most valuable company in the world.
Vision is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot: you’ve gotta have a vision. And you do. But in my work with start ups, I’ve noticed that a lot of start up founders/CEOs don’t even know what one is, and they’re missing out on a valuable tool. When I ask what their vision is, a lot of people give me a mission statement. Or they just tell me what their company does.
A vision statement is powerful tool that will allow you to form a coherent strategy, develop a brand, prioritize, execute and engage employees. It’s a future state you want your company to achieve. It’s not time bound. It’s not measurable. It doesn’t have specific strategies or tactics in it. And it’s broad and flexible enough to stand the test of time. I encourage the leadership teams of start ups to examine their vision statements to see if it meets this criteria. If not, go back to the whiteboard and see what you can do to tweak it. It’s then that you can build a mission and strategy that’s measureable and timebound. Then ensure that EVERYONE in your company gets it and understands how their role contributes to achieving the vision. Trust me. It works.
And if you don’t trust me, trust Steve. WWSD?
Steve’s vision for Apple was: To make a contribution to the world by making tools for
the mind that advance humankind. While it took him a while to figure out the right execution, and I don’t agree with all of his management “techniques”, he let his vision guide his company’s mission, strategy and prioritization of projects to become the most valuable company in the world.
Vision is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot: you’ve gotta have a vision. And you do. But in my work with start ups, I’ve noticed that a lot of start up founders/CEOs don’t even know what one is, and they’re missing out on a valuable tool. When I ask what their vision is, a lot of people give me a mission statement. Or they just tell me what their company does.
A vision statement is powerful tool that will allow you to form a coherent strategy, develop a brand, prioritize, execute and engage employees. It’s a future state you want your company to achieve. It’s not time bound. It’s not measurable. It doesn’t have specific strategies or tactics in it. And it’s broad and flexible enough to stand the test of time. I encourage the leadership teams of start ups to examine their vision statements to see if it meets this criteria. If not, go back to the whiteboard and see what you can do to tweak it. It’s then that you can build a mission and strategy that’s measureable and timebound. Then ensure that EVERYONE in your company gets it and understands how their role contributes to achieving the vision. Trust me. It works.
And if you don’t trust me, trust Steve. WWSD?
- Know the future state you want to achieve
- Know how you are going to get there
- Prioritize
- Execute like hell
