Revision as of 10:44, 3 August 2017

The big idea

A Vision statement is a description of the strategic plan of project given in a single sentence. It is supposed to give a signal of which direction the project is heading. In the following we will look into what a vision statement should contain and how to use it.

Application

A vision statement is usually made when a project wants to promote a certain message to the team and/or their surroundings. An example is the Apollo 11 project where John F. Kennedy said the following: ”.. this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth..” It is precise, catchy and was ambitious but still realistic (the statement is from 1961 and the first landing happened in 1969).

A statement is generally based on the following points:

• Desirable (acceptable to keep stakeholders):
  • The message must be desirable: It should connect to your personal values and preferences. We must be able to believe in the projects that we participate in. It is important to ask of the following:
  • What value would you like to create?
  • Whom do you want to create value for? It is important to remember that value is not a product.
• Realistic yet ambitious. Make ambitious goals but still within reach.
  • The vision statement needs time to deposit and should not change in the course of projects.
• Specific yet holds many possible solutions.
  • Be specific: A vision must be specific and have a well defined target for the projection.
  • Hold many possible solutions. The vision should not enforce one specific solution, but enable multiple paths to be explored.
  • The reason why it should not be too specific is that a less specific statement can provide direction under changing circumstances. If it becomes too specific it will have to be changed constantly and if it is too broad it will lack direction.

By implementing these points in the vision statement it is possible to make a powerful statement and by this making a strong profile.

Limitations

The vision statement contains a message of what the project stands for. But if the people working for the project cannot see or do not agree in the message that the project is trying to promote, the employees will be dissatisfied.

• The larger a project becomes the more distance is often made between the employees and the manager of the project. This makes it more difficult to reach everyone and making them understand the message. E.g. It is easier to promote the vision statement to the team of a project group of five than the planning and execution of the Olympic Games.
• Making a vision statement but fails in communicating the message to the project team, stakeholders and employees and never using it.
• Making a too complex and uninspiring vision which is difficult to relate to.
• There is a possibility that a vision statement can be understood in several ways. This is both an opportunity, but it can also be problematic if it relates to something the project team has not thought of.
• Projects taking a new direction and therefor making a new vision statement, usually has difficulties convincing all of the employees of the direction. In these situations there is need for change management. A way to implement the new changes could be by using Kotter’s eight steps (see annotated bibliography).

Annotated bibliography