A Simple Method for Achieving the Vision

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“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

Many companies today have vision statements that are well-written and effectively describe future organizational aspirations. One has to wonder, though, that as common as they are, and as long as organizations have been doing vision statements, why so many companies continue to have trouble staying focused and miss the mark. Rather than staying focused and driving toward the future, organizational ADHD takes over and the vision turns into a virtually meaningless slogan.

One of the biggest reasons for failing to achieve the vision is a lack of understanding and appreciation of what a vision can truly do for an organization. A vision should be carefully created around what the company is expected to become over the next 5-10 years (or whatever time period makes sense for the company). It must be meaningful and able to drive all planning and improvement activities for the organization. It is a deliberate aspiration for the company; not something to be used only when convenient.

A Simple Solution

Achieving the vision is a simple process of understanding where the company wants to go, where is currently is, and continually closing the gap between the two. Just because the process is simple, though, does not make it easy. Without keeping the approach simple – and frankly most companies do not keep it simple – there is no chance of making it successful.

This post is meant to address the how of achieving the vision rather than the what. There is a process for creating effective vision statements that some leaders have obviously done very well. The method covered here assumes that the vision statement is one that clearly and effectively describes what the organization wants to become in the future.

1. Define the Gap In the same way that a problem on the shop floor requires first to define the gap, achieving the vision requires understanding how far the organization is from the its ideal targets.
   Determining the gap involves breaking down the vision, which is often stated as a generalization, into specific 3-5 year objectives (which often include targets for safety, quality, production/schedule, and cost, although other areas can be covered). The objectives are regularly compared to current performance to determine the gaps that needs to be closed to move the organization closer to the vision.
2. Set Annual Targets The 3-5 year targets become annual targets for different areas of the organization. Individual teams create their plans to achieve the targets, keeping the leadership team in the loop throughout the year.  The annual targets are deployed through the catchball process to ensure buy-in throughout the organization and to give the leader confidence that those accepting the objectives understand the intent as well as the targets.
3. Establish Regular Meeting Rhythm There needs to be regular meetings to ensure: (1) the annual targets are being met; and (2) the organization is closing the gaps toward the 3-5 year objectives and ultimately the vision. The meetings are focused on problems in achieving the targets and closing the gaps toward the vision. The term rhythm is important here because the meetings need to happen on regular intervals based on the pace of the business. The key is to meet frequently enough to allow corrections to be made before things get too far off course.
   It is also important to remember that the rhythm meetings are not witch hunts. They are meant to ensure that problems are being handled effectively and to identify where additional help is needed. To keep the meetings focused, it is necessary to run them from the dashboards and only refer to the plans when needed to address a particular problem.  This keeps everyone focused on the same things, looking at the same data, and removes debate and confusion about where the problems lie.
4. Repeat the Process Steps 1-3 need to happen every year to keep the team focused on the vision and to make sure the gaps are closing effectively.

The above process is a method that successful companies have used to turn their vision from a generalized statement of hopes and aspirations into a deliberate attempt to create the future. Developing and communicating the vision, when done correctly, can be energizing and motivating for the organization. Without a process for making it happen, though, the motivation, as well as the improvements driven, will likely not last.

The Lean Formula

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As I've said many times, lean is simple but not easy.  The concepts are fairly easy to understand, but making it happen requires such a deep level of reprogramming of the way people think and act that few are able to carry it through.

There are many ways to begin a lean journey and one is not necessarily more correct than another.  I adjust my approach depending on a variety of organizational factors, but I generally like to start with a basic formula that keeps people focused on the results the organization is trying to achieve, the results they are actually getting, and how to close the gap between the two.

The basic formula to follow a targets-results-gap approach is: 

CLEAR BUSINESS PLAN  x  VISUAL DASHBOARDS  x  EFFECTIVE MEETING RHYTHM  x  CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

This basis of this formula is that all elements must be present in order to achieve success.  For example, having a business plan that clearly identifies the organization's desired performance levels and a plan to get there won't do much without dashboards that provide a consistent and discernible picture of results.  Although more common than one might think, this type of situation makes managing the business extremely difficult by leaving too much to chance.

The components of the formula are as follows:

CLEAR BUSINESS PLAN:  There must be a plan that provides very clear direction and targets for the organization.  The plan should break the company's long-term strategy into specific results to be achieved in the coming 1-2 years.  Included in the plan is information or results that drive daily work (i.e., help people understand the level of performance that must be maintained to meet objectives) and breakthroughs, or the big steps that must be taken to move the organization forward (i.e., the areas where business as usual is not acceptable).

VISUAL DASHBOARDS:  The dashboards is the scoreboard to identify the gaps between current performance and the targets or objectives listed in the business plan.  At the highest level, this is the actual safety, quality, production, and cost targets.  As you move deeper into the organization, though, the measures on the dashboard will become more focused on the processes in a particular area.  Also, the information on dashboards must be clear, easy to understand, and include leading, as well as lagging indicators.

EFFECTIVE MEETING RHYTHM: The organization must implement a meeting cadence that is focused on actual performance versus targets.  The meetings should be short and focused on hotspots - i.e., the problems that are, or have the potential of, interfering with performance.  These meetings are not a forum for people to tell everyone how much work they did since the last meeting - the dashboards will do this.  The meetings should used to highlight the problems and ask for help.  The meeting schedule should be set at as closely as possible to the pace of work so the problems can be identified and addressed quickly.

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT:  Knowing the gaps between targets and current performance is futile if people do not know how to address problems.  Having an effective kaizen or continual improvement process will enable the organization to close the gaps and react quickly to existing and potential problems.

Although the basic formula appears simple, there are a lot of elements necessary to make it effective.  Without effective leadership or a culture that supports, rather than hinders, teamwork and the ability to question the status quo, success will be elusive.  Using the formula as a starting point for a lean transformation, though, will tend to make the organization's weaknesses visible, which is the first step in making the change.