Arriving at a Common Organizational Vision
Forming a vision which is in alignment with one’s business and organization is not a mean feat. People who are looking for their life’s purpose while evolving during the process are able to define a vision in which they truly believe. This vision is like a fuel that keeps driving them to work towards its own fulfillment.
At SKC World, the process of Envisioning has been curated to help entrepreneurs form their personal and organizational vision. Consisting of self-introspection and realization, this process of forming a vision is spread over a couple of months culminating in a 2 day offsite. And literally, post the envisioning emerges a “New You”.
While having clarity of vision and purpose is a great thing, implementing it in the organization is often challenging for the Founder. This happens because organizations consist of many individuals who may not necessarily be aligned or consent with the founder’s vision.
Though aligning vision with all other people requires consistent and persistent efforts, this basic 3-step process shared below can help to get people immediately in sync with the Founder’s intent:
- Define “What”:
- The first question we need to answer as a core team is ‘what’ exactly are we doing or trying to achieve through our business? The ‘what’ defines the problem we are trying to solve for our clients.
- Once this ‘what’ has been defined, the products or services we offer automatically start assuming a meaning/purpose. The core intent of each engagement becomes easier to curate once everyone is aligned with the ‘what’ of our business.
- Understand “Why” (of customers):
- The next critical question to answer is ‘why’ the customers are currently unable to solve this problem for themselves. Where are they stuck?
- Defining the ‘why’ will help us define the outcomes that we as an organization need to achieve for meeting client expectations. For instance, if a client is facing a challenge related to lack of decision making, then the consulting engagement should focus on churning out reports which will ultimately help him make the right decisions.
- Decide the “How”:
- The last piece of the puzzle is ‘how’ we as an organization need to function for delivering ‘what’ to overcome ‘why’ for the customers. We simply need to ask our team ‘’how can we help the customers overcome all the challenges as listed in the why?”
- Defining ‘how’ basically helps us to identify the prime delivery methods and tools through which we can substantially enhance customer expectations.
After listing down the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ we must weave them together in unison with our team to arrive at a common vision.
For instance, SKC’s vision for compliance and consulting division that emerged after weaving our what, why, and how together was – Adding value to organizations by enabling them to take right and timely decisions through business analytics and enhancing human productivity.
The most beautiful part of the whole exercise will be to arrive at a vision in which everyone believes and is geared up to achieve.
Also read – Culture: A Key Factor That Drives a Successful Organisation