The 3 elements of Vision: Lessons from Jim Collins
The 3 elements of Vision (and how to execute it)— Lessons from Jim Collins.
Photo by George Lange
A clear and compelling vision is essential for any company that wants to achieve greatness.
But how do you actually go about creating a Vision for your organisation? What’s the difference between Vision and Mission? How does vision connect to Strategy and Tactics?
Teaching on vision often blends in with mission and goals, leaving many business owners confused. So I turned to Jim Collins, Management expert, for some clarity. You may know of Collins from reading 'Good to Great', a business classic.
In his latest book "Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0", Collins breaks Vision down into three key elements:
Core Values & Beliefs
Purpose
Mission
A helpful analogy to imagine Vision by is reaching the summit of the highest mountain...
To climb a mountain, you first need a belief that it's possible, and a willingness to go about it. This represents Core Values. Your Purpose, then, acts as your guiding star—always visible on the horizon, never fully reached, yet constantly pulling you forward. Your Mission is the specific mountain that you're focused on climbing. Once you've conquered one mission, you look back to your guiding star and set your sights on the next challenge. The journey always begins with Vision, progresses through Mission and is executed with Strategy and Tactics.
"A sound strategy is impossible without a clear vision." — Jim Collins.
1. Core Values & Beliefs
At the foundation of any great vision are the Core Values and Beliefs that define define a company's enduring character.
Core Values are a small set of guiding principles and beliefs that remain constant over time, regardless of changes in strategy or the external environment. They're intrinsic and therefore require no external justification. As Collins explains, Core Values are discovered by looking inside the organisation, rather than being invented or imposed. They are deeply held beliefs that should be authentic to the company’s identity.
To discover your organisation’s Core Values:
Reflect on what principles are truly core to your organisation's identity and culture. This should be done by the leadership team, but also by surveying team members for their individual input.
Consider what values you would hold onto, even if they became a competitive disadvantage.
Aim for 3 to 5 core values that are authentic and meaningful, not just nice-sounding platitudes.
Regardless of what your company claims, your Core Values and Beliefs should be consistently demonstrated through actions, not just words. They serve as the bedrock for everything else.
2. Purpose
Building on your Core Values, your Purpose articulates why your company exists beyond just making money. Collins describes purpose as the fundamental reason for being that gives meaning to the work. It acts as your north star, unchanging and always present, regardless of what your business achieves or how long it’s around.
A good purpose statement should be:
Broad and fundamental
Inspiring and emotional
Enduring over time
Easy to understand and communicate
Here are some examples of how simple a Purpose statement can be:
3M: Solve unsolved problems innovatively.
Merck: Preserve and improve human life.
Walt Disney: Make people happy.
Patagonia: Be a role model and tool for social change.
While many companies may have similar purposes, what differentiates great companies is how they put that purpose into action throughout the organisation.
3. Mission
The final element is Mission and what Collins calls the BHAG - Big Hairy Audacious Goal. This is a bold, compelling goal that serves as a unifying focal point for the company. Collins take on setting a BHAG challenges the typical view of Mission Statements that are often vague, lengthy and hard to implement (let alone remember).
Unlike the more abstract purpose, your Mission should be:
Clear and concise
Specific and time-bound
Ambitious yet achievable
Energising for employees
Tangible and easy to understand
A great Mission (BHAG) stretches the organisation to think big while also creating a sense of urgency. It translates the purpose into an actionable goal that everyone can focus on, together. Long periods of intense focus is what separates great companies from the rest.
IKEA: “Build the best product cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”
TESLA: "Accelerating the World's Transition to Sustainable Energy"
Tip: When presenting your mission externally, such as a public Mission Statement, you can simplify the mission even further by remove time-bound dates and other information that isn't relevant to the public.
"Like the moon mission, a true BHAG is clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort—often creating immense team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organisation can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines. A BHAG engages people—it reaches out and grabs them in the gut. It is tangible, energising, highly focused. People “get it” right away; it takes little or no explanation." — Jim Collins.
Bridging the gap with Strategy
After establishing a compelling vision using Jim Collins' framework, the next step is to develop a Strategy to get there.
Strategy serves as the roadmap that guides your organisation from its current state towards its envisioned future. It provides a coherent plan for allocating resources, making key decisions, and focusing efforts to achieve your Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), while staying true to your core ideology.
According to Collins, an effective strategy should:
Align with core ideology: Ensure all strategic choices reinforce your core values and purpose.
Focus on the Hedgehog Concept (Good to Great book): Concentrate on the intersection of what you're passionate about, what you can be best in the world at, and what drives your economic engine.
Be adaptable: While the vision remains constant, strategy should evolve as circumstances change.
Stimulate progress: Create a series of concrete, actionable steps towards your BHAG.
Getting down to Tactics
While strategy provides the overall direction, tactics are the specific actions and methods used to execute that strategy.
Collins argues that tactics should be flexible and subject to frequent change based on market conditions, technological advancements, and organisational learning. Tactics are important because a company’s ability to execute its strategy depends on its ability to execute its processes.
Tactics are:
Short-term, actionable plans
Should be regularly reviewed and adjusted
Must align with the overarching strategy
Can be experimental, allowing for rapid learning and iteration
Tactics must support and advance strategic objectives. For example: a high-end restaurant's tactics (i.e. investing in quality ingredients, training staff in exceptional service) should align with its strategy of providing a premium dining experience.
While Vision and Strategy provides long-term direction, Tactics allow for flexibility and rapid adaptation to changing market conditions. Agility is key in today's fast-paced environment. Tactics can be adjusted more frequently than strategy, allowing a faster response to immediate operational challenges or opportunities.
At Leader Guide, too often we see small business leaders change their Vision or Mission instead of Tactics in response to changing external factors (such as a market downtown). This can lead to a loss in momentum, frustration with team members and missed opportunities.
This brings us to the last thought: the importance of maintaining strategic discipline.
Maintaining strategic discipline is the key to ensuring your Strategy drives progress towards your Vision, and you don't lose momentum or get distracted along the journey.
Collins tips to maintain strategic discipline include:
Regularly revisiting and refining your strategy
Maintaining unwavering commitment to your core ideology
Consistently communicating the strategy throughout the organisation
Aligning all major decisions and resource allocations with the strategy
Putting It All Together
With these three elements: Core Values, Purpose, and Mission - you can create a powerful Vision that sets the foundations for a great, enduring company.
Checklist: To create your organisations Vision (and execute it):
Start by clearly articulating your core values and beliefs
Define your fundamental purpose for existing
Set an ambitious Mission (BHAG) to drive progress
Ensure all three elements align and reinforce each other
Communicate the vision clearly and consistently
Develop a Strategy to bridge the gap between current state and envisioned future
Apply relevant Tactics to execute on your Strategy
Maintain strategic discipline
Remember that a great vision is not just words on paper—it must be lived out through leadership and embedded in the culture. When done right, a compelling Vision can align and motivate your entire organisation toward achieving greatness.
Written by Lachlan Nicolson. Small Business Coach at LeaderGuide.com.au
Related Reading: Good to Great by Jim Collins - The 7 Key Concepts
