Setting the Company Vision and Strategy for the New Year

What’s your company vision? Many companies, appropriately, have the same vision year after year. However, the current economic state has company leaders modifying the vision to accommodate changing needs. Whether you’re sticking with your long-term vision or adding elements to address the new economic reality, how are you communicating that to your team? What is your strategy to drive the productivity and performance targets you need for success in this ailing economy?

Bnet blogger Stuart Cross recently posted an entry: “Is Your Company Vision Taking You Backwards.” Cross comments:

“Creating a vision creates expectations — which is precisely their point — and unless you are willing to live up to these expectations the vision will lead to organizational apathy, at best, and cynicism at worst.”

He cites three signs your vision is taking you backwards: it’s not specific, not communicated, and ignored.

Cross later posted another blog on “Does Your Strategy Have ‘Stickability’?” in which he asked essentially the same questions regarding employee knowledge of the company strategy, their ability to articulate it clearly and demonstrate actions to achieve it in their individual actions.

Effectively communicating the company vision and strategy so it can be easily understood and implemented in their daily jobs by every employee is equally important. This means making the vision and strategy real and meaningful on the manufacturing floor or in the office cubicle. One of the most effective -- and positive -- ways to do that is by using strategic employee recognition programs. These programs allow any employee to nominate any other for behaviors or actions that advance the strategy, but also require that each nominated behavior/action be tied specifically to a company value or strategic goal/element. This helps all employees begin to recognize not only what actions advance the company strategy, but also repeat those actions for the betterment of the company.

Share your communication strategies for your vision and strategy with our recognition community in comments.