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Today the podcast has reached a milestone, at episode 100. Starting back in February 2016, it has taken a little over 3.5 years to get to this point. I hope you have been one of those who have come along on the journey.
I am calling today’s episode, “Your mission, vision, values, and offerings … in 10 minutes.” That’s a pretty tall order, so let’s get started.
I am not a big fan of mission and vision statements that are found in most organizations. Why? Because I have always felt that they are frequently untethered to first principles. Let me explain.
Here at The Age of Organizational Effectiveness podcast, we have an unconventional view of what an organization should be about, whether it is a business, a government agency, or a nonprofit. You see, organizations are not all that different in their underlying rationale. From first principles, we know that for an organization to survive and thrive, it must exchange benefits with its environment. In other words, an organization must serve its environment, so that it can be rewarded in return. The more effective and organization becomes, the more benefits it will exchange with its environment. In short, the goal (or meta-goal) of every organization is the same, that is, to be effective within its environment while improving the health of the system as a whole. Each organization has the freedom, of course, to determine where it will serve and what it will offer its environment as part of its service to it. With that in mind, it uses positive values to improve and sustain the health of the organization and its environment as a whole.
Which brings us to your mission, vision, values, and offerings. Given first principles, we can formulate them in the next 10 minutes. Here is a suggested format:
Mission: Our mission is to serve our environment effectively using positive values in order to make the world a better place. The environment that we have chosen to serve is ____________________. Our people are free to decide for themselves how best to serve our environment every day.
Vision: Our vision is a world where our offerings are integral to the success of _______________, both now and in the future.
Values: We embed positive values in our offerings and in all that we do so that they provide benefits that build up the environment that we serve. Our top 5 values are:
- _________
- _________
- _________
- _________
- _________
Offerings: Our offerings embody the positive values and unique attributes we seek to cultivate in order to serve our environment effectively. Our offerings are the instruments through which we exchange benefits with our environment, thus allowing us to survive and thrive, along with our surrounding environment. Our key offerings are:
- ____________________ for __________________
- ____________________ for __________________
- ____________________ for __________________
- …
Today I have provided a suggested format for crafting your mission, vision, values, and offerings. It enables the creation of a first draft quickly, but you can revise and refine the framework as needed over time. It is a good way to get your entire organization involved in crafting a path toward the future.
For more information on Management by Positive Organizational Effectiveness and the types of tangible and intangible benefits that are exchanged with your environment, please refer to my book referenced in the show notes (below).
Charles G. Chandler, Ph.D.
Reference:
Chandler, Charles G. 2017. Become Truly Great: Serve the Common Good through Management by Positive Organizational Effectiveness. Powell, OH: Author Academy Elite.