A selection of slides from a focus-group session to develop a company's Purpose, Vision and Values.

1. DISCOVERING YOUR COMPANY’S
MISSION, VISON & VALUES
ABBRIDGED FOCUS GROUP SLIDES BY MICHAEL TIMMS

2. PURPOSE
VISION
VALUES
STRATEGY
ACHIEVE MID-TERM GOALS
ACHIEVE VISION
HOW IT ALL
WORKS
TOGETHER

3. OUR PURPOSE TODAY
1. Get your input (it’s a workday )
2. Discuss the big picture (not tactical plans)
3. Get the content right (not word-smithing)
4. Gain consensus

4. GROUND RULES
1. Disagree without being disagreeable. Explain why;
give examples.
2. Want fairly equal participation.
3. One person speaks at a time. No side-bar
discussions.
4. Groups should be diverse: not all the same work teams
together.
5. Turn off phone.

5. ARTICULATING YOUR COMPANY’S
PURPOSE

6. WHY START WITH
WHY?

7. PURPOSE STATEMENT DEFINED
1. A statement of why the organization exists
2. It is aspirational, meaning that it may never be fully completed
3. The boundaries and scope we work in (and don’t work in)
4. Based on your core competencies
5. It must be motivational

8. 1. What would be lost if the company ceased to exist? Why is it important that
the company continue to exist?
2. Short enough to write on a T-Shirt, but long enough to convey the full
meaning.
3. Expresses the organization’s impact on the lives of whomever they serve.
Make them feel it.
4. What would be lost if the company ceased to exist?
5. Structure: “We’re doing X(what), for Y(who), because Z(why)”
HELPS & GUIDELINES
WHAT WHO WHY PURPOSE+ + =

9. 1. Apple (1980): “To make a contribution to the world by making tools
for the mind that advance humankind.”
2. “TED is a non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.”
3. Nike: “To experience the emotion of competition, winning, and
crushing competitors.”
4. Sony: “To experience the sheer joy of innovation and the application
of technology for the benefit and pleasure of the general public.”
5. 3M: “To solve unsolved problems innovatively.”
Purpose Statement Examples

10. “To build world-class deliverables in a sustainable
and ethical manner to the highest quality standards
which exceeds client expectations and achieves
financial success.”
Bad Purpose Statement

11. ARTICULATING YOUR COMPANY’S
VISION

12. VISION STATEMENT DEFINED
1. A clear, specific, compelling picture of what the organization will look like at
a specific time in the future (10 - 30 years)
2. Includes (or implies) those few key metrics that define success.
3. Defines key results achieved and yet to be accomplished, the expected
impact to the clients, and it describes (or implies) the behaviors that the
organization must display to be successful.
4. A clear vision delimits potential strategies; it helps define what’s within or
outside of the organization’s bounds.

13. 1. Core Ideology defines the enduring
character of an organization—a consistent
identity that transcends product or market
life cycles, technological breakthroughs,
management fads, and individual leaders.
2. Audacious Goal. A 10 to 30 year goal that
engages people—it reaches out and grabs
them. It is tangible, energizing, highly
focused. People get it right away; it takes
little or no explanation.
3. Vivid description. A vibrant, engaging, and
specific description of what it will be like to
achieve the Audacious Goal. Painting a
picture with your words.
BUILDING
BLOCKS OF A
VISION

14. Mission: “To make a contribution to
the world by making tools for the
mind that advance humankind.”
Core Ideology: “Think Different”
CORE IDEOLOGY

15. “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.”
- John F. Kennedy (1961)
AUDACIOUS GOAL

16. VIVID DESCRIPTION
Sony’s goal was to “become the company most known for
changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese products.
Fifty years from now, our brand name will be as well known as any
in the world . . . and will signify innovation and quality. . . .‘Made in
Japan’ will mean something fine, not something shoddy.”
1950’s

17. 1. Microsoft (1980): “A computer on every desk and in every home
using great software as an empowering tool.”
2. DuPont: “To be the world’s most dynamic science company, creating
sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, and healthier life for
people everywhere.”
3. Susan G. Komen for the Cure: “A world without breast cancer.”
4. McDonald’s: “To be the world’s best quick service restaurant
experience. Being the best means providing outstanding quality,
service, cleanliness, and value, so that we make every customer in
every restaurant smile.”
Vision Statement Examples

18. GUIDELINES
1. Future-casting: Provides a picture of what your business will look like in the
future.
2. Audacious: Represents a dream that is beyond what you think is possible.
Visioning takes you out beyond your present reality.
3. Motivating: Clarifies the direction in which your organization needs to move
and keeps everyone pushing forward to reach it.
4. Purpose-Driven: Worded to give your staff a larger sense of purpose–so
they see themselves as “building a cathedral” rather than “laying stones.”
5. Inspiring: Uses engaging and inspiring language. It creates a vivid image.

19. ARTICULATING YOUR COMPANY’S
VALUES

20. VALUES DEFINED
1. The boundaries within which the organization will operate in pursuit of its
vision. May include both core values (those on which the organization will
never compromise and is willing to pay a price to uphold) and aspirational
values (those that the organization espouses, but has yet to live up to in
day-to-day operations).
2. To be most valuable, values must be described in clear behavioral terms.
3. Core values are the essential and enduring tenets of an organization.
What do you stand for?

21. VALUES SHOULD BE
USED AS A
DECISION-MAKING
FILTER

22. EXAMPLE VALUES
• Elevation of the Japanese
culture and national status
• Being a pioneer—not
following others; doing the
impossible
• Encouraging individual ability
and creativity

23. EXAMPLE VALUES
• No cynicism
• Nurturing and promulgation of
“wholesome American values”
• Creativity, dreams, and
imagination
• Fanatical attention to consistency
and detail
• Preservation and control of the
Disney magic

24. United Kingdom Australia
“Always listening to and building
first-class relationships with our
customers to help us provide
excellent standards of service
and client satisfaction.”
“We are passionate
about our customers.”
EXAMPLE VALUE – CUSTOMER CARE

25. GUIDELINES
1. 3 – 5 Values. They need to be memorable.
2. Specific, not generic. It takes more than one word to define specificity.
3. Don’t repeat yourself. Some values-driven language may be part of your
mission statement. That’s fine, but consider not repeating what you have
covered elsewhere.
4. They must be enduring. For each value, ask: If the circumstances changed
and penalized us for holding this core value, would we still keep it? If no,
then it should be dropped from consideration.

26. “The core values embodied in our credo
might be a competitive advantage, but
that is not why we have them. We have
them because they define for us what
we stand for, and we would hold them
even if they became a competitive
disadvantage in certain situations.”
- Ralph S. Larsen, CEO of Johnson & Johnson
(1989 to 2002)

27. THE MOST CUSTOMER-CENTRIC COMPANIES ARE
PURPOSE-DRIVEN & EMPLOYEE-FIRST
https://availleadership.com/successful-companies-priorities/

28. SOURCES
• “Building Your Company’s Vision” – James
Collins & Jerry Porras. Harvard Business
Review. 1996
• https://onstrategyhq.com/resources/developin
g-your-strategy/
• “Your Company’s Purpose Is Not Its Vision,
Mission, or Values” – Graham Kenny. Harvard
Business Review. 2014

29. Michael Timms, MBA
(604) 866-3399
mtimms@AvailLeadership.com