Vision Quest: Finding Your North Star

Visions are wonderful sources of inspiration for all humans. If we can use our businesses in a way that incorporates a truly inspiring vision, and if it is implemented in a strategic, integrated, and authentic manner, than those businesses will not only help change the world, but inspire everyone they touch.

We all have visions of what would make a better world. Maybe it’s a world without hate or homelessness or disease. Maybe it’s equality for all regardless of gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Maybe it’s a planet that is sustainable.  These visions may seem out of reach in the short term, but inspire long-term thinking, planning, and dedication. They are “dreams” that serve as a signpost or “North Star” directional finder so that we know the direction we want our lives to go. Missions, meanwhile, are the “doing” part – what your company is doing, who your company is serving, and how to accomplish this in a responsible manner.
 
Businesses that are fully engaged in authentic, strategic, and integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs often have a Vision for their company that is interconnected with the company’s Mission, set of Values, and the lens through which decisions are made.  Corporate Visions contain real world aspirations for society, in combination with how a particular business will help to achieve those goals and change the world.
 
It should be no surprise to anyone that in this day and age of “purpose-driven” workers (especially Millennials) demanding more environmental and social responsibility from employers – that developing a company Vision, along with an authentic Mission and set of values, is a good place to start to keep workers engaged.
 
To give you an idea what a corporate Vision is, one only needs to look at the vision statements of some of the most recognizable companies and brands on the planet:
 
Disney:  “To make people happy.”
Google:  “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Zappos: “Delivering happiness to customers, employees, and vendors.”
Instagram: “Capture and Share the World’s Moments.”
Amazon: “To be the earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
 
These are heady and heavy visions for an entertainment/software/Consumer Packaged Goods company.  How does a company seeking to create an authentic Vision that will have traction begin and how is progress towards that goal get measured?
 
Developing Vision:
Visions can be developed primarily through two different paths:  internal generation or external generation.  Internal generation consists of the company tapping its own human resources to determine consensus on what is the important dream/goal that will be directly or indirectly, related to the business.  If you are in the business of delivering a physical product, how can the development, design, manufacturing (especially supply chain), and/or lifecycle be related to your company Vision?  If you can survey all employees, then you will have the greatest opportunity for buy-in and employee engagement. If you’re too big for that exercise, perhaps surveying representative employee groups can help generate/narrow choices. If you’re still in the start-up phase with minimal employees, then that would be the perfect time to get your CSR (mission, vision, values) baked right in.
 
External generation may come from some larger body of standards designed to create a more sustainable world. Many companies are now using the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) as a “northstar” for purposeful engagement.  The UNSDGs are a set of 17 global goals designed to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.  The intent is when governments, the private sector, and individual citizens take actions towards reaching these goals, the result will be a healthy environment enabling generations of humans to live in a sustainable way with dignity, equality, and a good quality of life.  When looking to these “big picture” goals as a Vision for your company, I suggest adopting no more than one or two of the seventeen areas to address, lest your company’s Vision may get clouded.
 
Implementing Vision:
As with a company’s Mission, when implementing Vision, you want decisions regarding the company’s operations, supply chain, philanthropy, community engagement, and employee engagement endeavors to be made through the lens of your company Vision. In other words, if you choose to have the “Zero Hunger” UNSDG as your Vision, then make sure all of your activities related to your business, your community, and your employees are driven toward this goal. Of course, the interim UNSDG targets can be converted into relatable targets for your company.
 
For example, one interim goal for Zero Hunger is:  “By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm employment.”
 
If your company produces a food item or is a restaurant, then seek to match these interim goals in making your own supply chain business decisions – source your ingredients from small-scale producers, women-owned businesses, family farmers and others in alignment with the Zero Hunger goal.
 
Measuring Vision: 
Of course, to really get the most out of a strategic, integrated, and authentic Vision (or otherwise known as the “Outcome”) a company must measure the outputs that support movement towards the end goal. Someone either internal to your organization or an external technical consultant should be tasked with measuring and, at the very least, reporting internally progress on these goals.  If you’re not measuring it or reporting it, then it might as well not be happening and your Vision will ring false with your employees, your community, and your consumers.  It is best to track your company’s progress towards these “big” visionary goals and communicate that progress on your website, social media, and/or in an annual report.
 
Visions are wonderful sources of inspiration for all humans. If we can use our businesses in a way that incorporates a truly inspiring vision, and if it is implemented in a strategic, integrated, and authentic manner, than those businesses will not only help change the world, but inspire everyone they touch.