YOUR ORGANISATION’S VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS MAY NEED TO BE RESTATED

 

Vision and Mission statements ensure better focus, consistency and unity of purpose. The challenge with the statements I have come across is that they are long and winding, full of words and at times both seem to be saying the same thing. In addition, there is likely to be different versions of the Vision and Mission statements emanating from sources such as the website, annual report and the existing strategic plan of the organisation.

Restating or validating an organisation’s Vision and Mission statements should be part of the process to review its Strategic Plan. The need for a restatement is prominent when staff, unless they describe the statements, are not able to recall or communicate both statements readily to guide their dealing with clients, the media, visitors and the general public.

I intend to give a guide to what must constitute good Vision and Mission statements, comparing some selected organisations and why the not so good ones would need to be restated.

Restating does not mean a review of the organisation’s Vision and Mission but keeping the intent with more clarity and focus in line with international best practice.

VISION STATEMENT

A Vision statement describes the ideal state of your organization in the future and to provide a sense of direction and inspiration for your goal setting. The vision statement would be what you hope for and what you want to be.                                               

A quick scan in the corporate world suggests a good Vision statement must be such that staff can commit the statement to memory and not describe it, be inspirational for the goals of the organization to be attained. It must evoke passion; capture minds and hearts of employees; overflow with optimism; be easy to communicate; and grab attention.

The international best practice with respect to the characteristics of a good Vision statement and examples of good Vision statements in Ghana and beyond I have seen are:

·        Retirement Benefit Authority (Kenya): “A dynamic and secure retirement benefits sector”.

·        National Petroleum Authority (Ghana): “To be a Catalyst for Economic Transformation and Growth”

·        Data bank (Ghana) : “To be the dominant financial services firm in Ghana and Africa”.

·        Netherlands Development Organization (SNV): “World without Hunger”.

·        Disneyland : “Memory for Life”

·        Fedex : “The World On Time”

·        Lexmax : “Customers for Life”

 

It is quite easy for staff to be guided by the above Vision statements in their interactions with clients and business development. A Lexmax a business development manager for example, can easily justify why she is going all out to keep a customer. She will be living the Lexmax vision of  ‘Customer for Life”.

Let us look at, in my opinion, some not too good Vision Statements:

·        Ghana College of Nurses & Midwives:

“Producing cadres of committed, intellectually and skillfully competent, contemporary nurses and midwives with specialized education providing quality improved care”.

Comment : Focus not clear and wordy.

·        GTBank:

“We are a team driven to deliver the utmost in customer service. We are synonymous with innovation, building excellence and superior financial performance and creating role models for society”

Comment : A bit vague. Sounds more like a mission statement.

MISSION STATEMENT

A Mission statement determines who you are, what you do, what your target group is and how you intend to meet those needs. The general purpose of the organisation that  is why you exist.

In drafting a good Mission statement, the following are known best practice guidelines that must also be considered:

·        Will it be clear to everyone within and outside the organization?

·        Does it tell what our job is, what needs we are trying to fill, for whom, how?

·        Is it clear who we regard as our customers—not only who they are but who they should be?

·        Is our primary focus or strategic thrust clear? Does it reflect our distinctive competence?

·        Does it reflect our core values, philosophy and beliefs? Will it energize, motivate, and stimulate our organization?

·        Is it concise enough for people to remember the main points?

 

The following are some good Mission statements:

·        RBA (Kenya):

To develop, safeguard and deliver value to the retirement benefits sector through excellence in service delivery.

·        NPA (Ghana):

To Regulate, Oversee and Monitor the Petroleum Downstream Industry in Ghana for Efficiency, Growth and Stakeholder Satisfaction.

·        NBFIRA (Botswana):

 To regulate and supervise non-bank financial institutions for the purpose of contributing towards financial stability.

·        AB & David-Africa (Ghana):

To ensure businesses and projects succeed in Africa by helping clients minimize the risks associated with doing business on the continent.

·        GNPC (Ghana):

To lead the sustainable exploration, development, production and disposal of the petroleum resources of Ghana, by leveraging the right mix of domestic and foreign investments in partnership with the people of Ghana.

 

Let us look at, in my opinion, some not too good Mission statements:

Fidelity Bank (Ghana):

“To become an established top 3 bank in Ghana by 2021 based on all key performance indicators: Quality of Deposits; Operating Income; Quality of Loan Book; Return on Equity; Cost to Income Ratio, and anchored on three key pillars: Our people; Our service and processes, and Return to Stakeholders”.

Comment: The above tried to be specific but too wordy

Access Bank (Ghana) :

“Setting standards for sustainable business practices that unleash the talents of our employees, deliver superior value to our customers and provide innovative solutions for the markets and communities we serve”.

Comment : This can be any business and not necessarily financial service. Sounds like a business consulting firm.

Zoomlion (Ghana):

“Improving people’s lives and their environment”.

Comment: This would have been a great Vision Statement. Too brief for a Mission statement.

 

 

RESTATED VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

An organization that I know that have had to, based on the international best practice, restate their Vision and Mission statements is the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

Previous Vision: “To be recognized as a world class pension regulator that consistently delivers the highest value to its stakeholders and as a major contributor to national development”.

 

Restated Vision: “Ensuring Retirement Income Security”.

Previous Mission: “National Pensions Regulatory Authority exists to regulate and monitor the operations of pension schemes and ensure the effective administration of pensions in Ghana that will provide adequate and reliable pensions for retired and older people”.

Restated Mission: “To regulate pensions through effective policy direction to secure income for the retired in Ghana”.

Obviously the previous Vision and Mission statements were too wordy but the restated statements adequately capture the core purpose and focus of the Authority without changing the intent of the previous one. This is the way to go.

 

CONCLUSION

An organisation’s Vision and Mission statements are the bedrock of any strategic focus and need to be gotten right the first time. They have to be clear, kept stupidly simple and invoke passion. Vision statements have now taken the form of what we used to call slogans and the Mission statements must be like a lady’s skirt, that is short to keep the interest and long enough to cover the details.

If after reading this article, you realise you need to restate your Vision and Mission statements get yourself an Organisation Development (OD) consultant who is trained to facilitate the process for you.