Number 9 – Goals, Objectives, Mission, and Vision

Create systems to align goals, objectives, mission, and vision.

Practitioners: tactical, integrative, and strategic

The purpose of any strategy deployment system is to align goals, objectives, mission, and vision.  The problem with most strategy deployment systems is the failure to reach the objective.  Our focus is usually on the idea of alignment.  Alignment is a general term that carries a broad interpretation.  I would like to shift our attention to the word deployment. 

The word deployment is defined as creating a condition of readiness.  This is the objective or outcome of the process.  How do we assess the level of readiness in our teams?  Until we have defined this condition of readiness, I fear we will continue to leave the strategy-deployment process incomplete.

Creating systems requires us to define both the outcome and the methods.  What I find most often in the strategy deployment systems I have encountered is the failure to define the outcomes clearly, and the measures for the outcomes we desire.  To achieve readiness, every team and every team member must understand how to evaluate success in reaching the goal.  If we have communicated this, conducted a check for understanding, and reached agreement, I would challenge the level of readiness we might be assuming.

Goals, Objectives, Mission, and Vision – Oh, My

Now back to alignment.  Can we be in alignment and still not ready?  Alignment contains understanding and agreement.  Readiness contains clarity and commitment.  Can we commit to an outcome without understanding our role in accomplishing the outcome?  This also requires a meaningful measurement of the team’s performance.  This is the element that is most often missing. 

With clarity in measurement, self-evaluation can take place.  I want to know if the work I am doing is in line with the expected outcomes.  If I am uninformed in terms of this condition and measurement, then do not ask me if my performance is successful and certainly do not penalize me for not understanding.  That is the responsibility of the leader.  That is the condition of readiness I am pursuing. 

With over twenty years of experience with the strategy deployment process.  I have seen it done well and I have seen it done poorly.  When creating your systems to align goals, objectives, mission, and vision, remember, the true objective is to create a condition of organizational readiness.  If your team is not ready, they will fail to execute, every time!

Questions For Your Consideration

Where do you see readiness in your organization today?

How do you evaluate the presence of this condition?

How often do you participate in conversations to assess the readiness of your teams?

Where do you find gaps in understanding and how do you respond?

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