Thanks for presenting this concept so well. Great post!

Hi Adam:

Thanks for the clarity contained in your comment. You and I are singing off the same sheet of music.

An enjoyable and clarifying conversation, indeed, Mark. And Mike, thanks, for providing the forum and moderating. I agree that the discussions are quite valuable.

Too many companies have statements framed on the walls or published in their marketing materials that have no connection to what is actually happening and gives no guidance to people to help with decision making. It doesn't matter whether they call it a mission statement or a vision statement if it's only for decoration.

When we engage in conversations defining these words, we are also giving life and meaning to them; which ultimately helps us to create plans that really work and strategies that really guide people, rather than engaging in an enjoyable planning activity, and then returning to work, checking "planning" off the to-do list, and getting back to the daily work of managing crises.

Jesse – excellent summary, and far more eloquent (with fewer typos!) than mine.

Often the Strategy Community is far more aligned than not, as Mike mentions, then we parse angels-on-a-pin discussions to create the appearance of major disagreement.

What’s interesting to me is that the discussions are almost ALWAYS worth having!

Thanks for the clarifications Jesse…I too have enjoyed the comments and perspectives thus far.

Hi Mike,

Yes, we are aligned. There have been times when I worked on values first. It depends on the situation. And that would be a much longer conversation.

I do want to clarify one thing, I consider mission (purpose), vision (picture of the future) and values to be central, whatever order they are clarified. When I said that Vision determines the strategy, I was operating from my own definition of vision (vision= purpose, picture and values). I wouldn't retrofit values after strategy.

Thanks again for your well-written and helpful post, Mike. I have enjoyed the conversations that it has elicited.

Hi Jesse:

We're definitely more aligned than not. Where you and I tend to differ is on the topic of how values enter the equation. One of the first things I'm interested in hearing from a client on this topic is an articulation of not only the core values, but also what the organization does not value. If a vision, mission and strategy are the foundation, then values are the cornerstone of the foundation. To attempt to create vision, mission and strategy first and then retrofit by adding values after the fact in support these endeavors leads to rationalizations and justifications to create a perceived alignment – big trouble. I'm not suggesting you can't do this, many do. I'm suggesting it produces less than optimal results. I'm guessing that we can hash and rehash this validating semantical differences, but definitions do matter, especially in areas of great importance. You and I agree on this. Thanks for sharing Jesse.