The 'Mission, Vision and Values' Planning Format is Broken and Outdated.

QUESTION:? During the crisis, confusion and disruption of the COVID pandemic the subsequent? “Great Resignation" and “Great Reset” eras and now, the economic downturn, how many Leaders and their Boards had a 1st reaction of “…Wow, we better pull out our Mission, Vision and Value Statements and see how they can help guide us through all of this mess right now…”?

ANSWER:? We know the answer, don’t we?? In a time of “unprecedented everythings”, the struggle to find our footing became steps that either felt like, quicksand or a series of seemingly out-of-control reactions to new forces that were themselves suddenly powerful, unprecedented and equally uncharted.

For many Leaders, 'planning' has now become: “…survive and live to fight another day…”

Mission, Vision and Values statements were originally created to frame an Organization's clarity and purpose.?They were supposed to be statements of ACTION and INTENT; living words describing our CULTURE and our DNA.

Over time, Leadership Teams added broadly worded and generalized statements designed more to please readers and listeners (like Boards and Stakeholders) than to be operationally usable. The more that Management tried to say, the more they started running out of things to say.

In an unintended race to the bottom a dearth of any real original thinking, (crisp enunciation or even a simple "uniqueness of design") caused the Planning language used to describe what was previously so important to become co-opted and hapless.

Take this Test: How long do you think it would take to find and count?the number of [different] Mission, Vision and Value declarations from [different] companies in [different] industry verticals with exactly the same words used in them like "enabling", "engaging", "excellent", (customer) "experience", "expertise". "empowering", "exceptional" and "ethical"? (And that's just because we happen to have started with the "E’s”!).

Really? Is that the best we can do [or] is Long Term Planning just dead?

No, The need for a RE-SET is clear!

We can create a new path starting now to the critical definitions of our culture, our goals and our unique performance requirements for the Customers and Stakeholders we serve by absolutely understanding these (3) three basic things:

a. (Our ABILITIES) -WHAT can we count on to execute flawlessly in any and all times and conditions?

b. (Our RESILIENCE) - WHAT is sustainable in our methods, systems and operations either in prosperity or in challenge? and,

c. (Our ENERGY) - WHAT is our foundational vitality and our 'extra tank of gas' [despite] forces or events?.

(Remember this new acronym: A.R.E. = Abilities, Resilience and Energy).

Our ABILITIES: What are the specific skill sets and competitive advantages that our Team Members possess; always and in all-ways?

Our RESILIENCE: What are our “never failing” attributes of execution; how we stand up against the forces of good and bad (how tough are we, really)?

Our ENERGY: What makes us run in the very best of times or worst of times and who are our vital, unfailing and "always go to" people (regardless of titles or their places on our org charts)?

One more QUESTION: When the 'new normal' becomes 'normal' what happens to the 'old normal’?

And one more ANSWER: Stop looking for the 'old normal' or the 'new normal' and start focusing on being strong,?assertive and resource-rich both in the here and now and in the future!

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This is just a very small sample of the insights available to your organization's Leadership Team when the A.R.E. Planning Model is fully implemented. From now until May 31st, 2024 we are offering a complimentary, 2-hour introductory version of A.R.E. to the first (5) five organizations with 300 or more Team Members who request it. Learn more by contacting Allan DeNiro at [email protected] Thank you and continued success to you!