DEVELOPING A STRATEGIC VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Vision can be defi ned as ‘a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organisation’. In developing the purpose of the organisation, there are two views on the value of developing astrategic vision for its future: fi rst, that it is irrelevant; second, that it has value. We deal with these
The value of strategic vision
Vision can be defi ned in more complete terms than the opening statement of this section. Vision is a challenging and imaginative picture of the future role and objectives of an organisation, signifi cantly going beyond its current environment and competitive position. In spite of such diffi culties, some strategists are convinced that there are at least fi ve reasons to develop a strategic vision:
1 Vision refers to an organisation’s ambitions that go well beyond the immediate future and any full investigation of purpose needs to explore this vision . Even not-for-profi t organisations or those in the public sector usually need to compete for charitable or government funds and often desire to increase the range of services that they off er; such organisations will also benefi t from a picture of where they expect to be in the future.
Vision can be defi ned as ‘a mental image of a possible and desirable future state of the organisation’. In developing the purpose of the organisation, there are two views on the value of developing astrategic vision for its future: fi rst, that it is irrelevant; second, that it has value. We deal with these
The value of strategic vision
Vision can be defi ned in more complete terms than the opening statement of this section. Vision is a challenging and imaginative picture of the future role and objectives of an organisation, signifi cantly going beyond its current environment and competitive position. In spite of such diffi culties, some strategists are convinced that there are at least fi ve reasons to develop a strategic vision:
1 Vision refers to an organisation’s ambitions that go well beyond the immediate future and any full investigation of purpose needs to explore this vision . Even not-for-profi t organisations or those in the public sector usually need to compete for charitable or government funds and often desire to increase the range of services that they off er; such organisations will also benefi t from a picture of where they expect to be in the future.
2 The organisation’s mission and objectives may be stimulated in a positive way by the strategic options
that are available from a new vision.
that are available from a new vision.
3 There may be major strategic opportunities from exploring new development areas that go beyond
the existing market boundaries and organisational resources . 9 These require a vision that deserves careful exploration and development.
4 Simple market and resource projections for the next few years will miss the opportunities opened up by a whole new range of possibilities, such as new information technologies, biogenetics, environmental issues, new materials and lifestyle changes. Virtually every organisation will feel the impact of these signifi cant developments. Extrapolating the current picture is unlikely to be suffi cient
5 Vision provides a desirable challenge for both senior and junior managers.
Vision is therefore a backdrop for the development of the purpose and strategy of the organisation. To be clear, vision is not the same as purpose: vision is the future picture, with purpose being the more immediate and broader role and tasks that the organisation chooses to defi ne based on the current situation. However, it may be that the vision will lead to the purpose: for example, the Yahoo! vision of a wide-ranging internet service company led to the specifi c purpose of acquiring two companies, Flickr and Tumblr, in the last few years
the existing market boundaries and organisational resources . 9 These require a vision that deserves careful exploration and development.
4 Simple market and resource projections for the next few years will miss the opportunities opened up by a whole new range of possibilities, such as new information technologies, biogenetics, environmental issues, new materials and lifestyle changes. Virtually every organisation will feel the impact of these signifi cant developments. Extrapolating the current picture is unlikely to be suffi cient
5 Vision provides a desirable challenge for both senior and junior managers.
Vision is therefore a backdrop for the development of the purpose and strategy of the organisation. To be clear, vision is not the same as purpose: vision is the future picture, with purpose being the more immediate and broader role and tasks that the organisation chooses to defi ne based on the current situation. However, it may be that the vision will lead to the purpose: for example, the Yahoo! vision of a wide-ranging internet service company led to the specifi c purpose of acquiring two companies, Flickr and Tumblr, in the last few years
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