In my consultations with Asian organisations, I discovered a disturbing truth: up to 75 per cent of companies are operating without a clear direction of the future.

The frightening part is that they are continuing to pour millions of ringgit to develop new products and services and venture into new markets.

Many are doing so on an adhoc basis and spur of the moment.  Of course, many will justify their actions as entrepreneur-ship.  Being a change advocate, I support action-driven and bold entrepreneur-ship.

However, when millions of ringgit are at stake and when actions taken are irreversible, decisions made without clear direction of the future is more the style of a reckless gambler than an entrepreneur.

How would you feel as a passenger on board of a ship whereby the captain does not know the destination and has nor charted directions for the journey?

Many companies, however, will say that they have a clear view of the direction as they have a corporate vision.  On closer look, many of these visions say little about directions of the future.

Many of them sound common and cliches such as "excellence" and "world class" are sprinkled throughout their vision statements.  One corporate vision resembles another.

Most vision statements sound like wish statements.  Some are loaded with hype as a publicity tool.  With little indication of the future, vision statements will serve little purpose.

On the other hand, a clear and purposeful vision statement that is properly communicated can release the power in people to change an organisation.  An organisation without a clear, powerful and inspiring vision will not survive any crisis for long.

In tough times, such as the currency and economic crisis plaguing Asia now, a well articulated vision of the future is paramount in providing people a conceptual road map of where they are heading.

Definition of a vision

A vision provides the path to greatness.  Christopher Columbus became a great man because of his commitment to his vision of a shorter East-West trade route.  Mahatma Ghandi became famous and revered because of his unwavering vision of leading India to achieve independence.  The Wright brothers' vision of flying became a historic achievement when it introduced the possibility of air travel.

Likewise, organisations are also no greater than their leaders.  Sir Winston Churchill said:  "Empires of the future are empires of the mind."  How true that is.  The many business empires that we see today were once nothing more than a vision in someone's mind.

The reason that vision has become a reality is that leaders are able to translate their visions into organisations in such a manner that people passionately want to achieve them.

Thus, Frederick W. Smith risked millions of dollars in his vision to develop an overnight delivery service and time-sensitive packages.  His vision might have seem farfetched at that time as there was no market for such a service.

Amid doubts from industry experts, Smith persisted with his vision and his passion and consistency won the commitment of his staff.  He turned his delivery service, Federal Express, into a Fortune 500 company because he got his personal vision to become the vision of his organisation and accepted by his staff.

Likewise, Chrysler car company managed to escape bankruptcy because Lee Iacocca impressed in the minds of his people an indelible and compelling vision of turning Chrysler around into a profitable and winning enterprise.

A company or corporate vision is a projected picture of what an organisation wants to become.  It is usually expressed through a vision statement.  It reflects the value, business goals and commitment of the firm.  While a vision can be developed for an overall organisation, it can also be developed for a specific unit.

The term "vision" should be differentiated from "mission".  Mission is one of three components of a vision.  A corporate vision should have three key components: mission, discriminating competencies and shared values.

A mission defines the business of the company.  It identifies the products and services the company deals with and spells out its target customers and markets.  The mission provides the purpose of the organisation's existence.

Discriminating competencies are strengths that give a firm an edge over its competitors.  It defines the uniqueness of the company and the things that the company excels in.

Shared values, on the other hand, are beliefs, moral principles and philosophy that make up a firm's culture.  It defines how things are done in the organisation and serves as a guide for acceptable behavior in the organisation.

Why organisations need a vision

Why do companies need vision statements?  How do they help organisations achieve their goals?  One of the most underestimated value in organisations today is the power of vision.

Most organisations go about the business of developing their visions without capitalizing on the potential power within those visions.

A vision provides the strategic drive to achieve organizational change.  Organisations and individuals are alike in many ways.  Without a clear purpose and direction, individuals will wander about aimlessly.

They will get frustrated and demotivated and thus not excel.  Likewise, organisations without a vision will stumble without directions with inefficiency and inefficiency and ineffectiveness which will eventually result in its downfall. 

The accompanying diagram shows the eight strategic values of corporate vision.

Setting direction

There is no substitute for a clear direction of a company.  Good skills, knowledge, experience and team work are not enough to ensure and sustain the success of an organisation.  Many leaders in organisations hide behind events and activities and avoid open discussion about future directions.

They are more comfortable launching quality programmes, structural changes and training programmes.  They justify their lack of time to discuss future directions by being busy with policies, guidelines, procedures and methodology of the changes they are implementing for their organisations.

It is no wonder that many vision statements contain little inkling of the future directions of organisations.  The reason many organisations fail to transform themselves is because they have programmes, policies and procedures but no clear direction of where they are going.

All the competent policies in the world will amount to nothing if leaders cannot look ahead and anticipate things.  Those who are not forward-looking can't adapt to changes and capitalize on opportunities.

A powerful vision is one that sets a clear direction of the future.  A vision with a clear direction helps direct and align people towards one common destination.  A common direction of the future helps avoid conflict and misunderstanding between people.  It enables organisation to put their time, energy and effort in carrying out needed changes rather than being bogged down in irrelevant and insignificant activities.

Energizing people

Philosopher Jacques Cousteau said: "If we were logical, the future would be bleak, indeed.

"But we are more than logical.  We are human beings, and we have faith, and we have hope, and we can work."  Likewise, I would add that if we were logical, the future for corporations would be gloomy.

There is increasing competition, complexity and changes in business today.  This is where the value of vision comes in.  A positive vision can infuse people wit a burning commitment that goes beyond dreams.

A vivid vision captures the imagination of the people and they will start to translate it into reality.  A powerful vision will energize people to think, feel and act towards achieving the desired goals of the organisation.

It brings the whole being of people into action-body, mind and spirit-making them feel important and alive.

It enables people to tap inner strengths, capabilities and energize that they did not know existed.  A compelling vision instills courage in people to remove obstacles in their path and go against all odds to arrive at their destination.

A motivating vision develops a mental picture of a more exciting, dynamic and positive future than the present and thereby challenging people to achieve greatness.

Integrating the firm

One of the most significant values of a vision is that it helps integrate the whole organisation through a common purpose.

A vision provides a common language and reference point which all employees can relate to.  It promotes teamwork and coordination between employees.

The power of esprit de corps will enable them to look beyond sectional or departmental interest.  In the process of communicating the vision, there is ample opportunity for clarifying issues and building a more intimate understanding of the workings of the organisation.

People will become aware that all units must work closely and that their roles and activities must be coordinated to enable them to achieve their corporate vision.

A clear definition of vision allows resources to be aligned in the same direction, and when all corporate resources are mobilized towards the same direction, there are little limitations to what can be achieved.

Victor S.L. Tan is an international consultant and authority on change management.  He is the author of 4 books and the CEO of KL Strategic Change Consulting Group. He can be contacted at 603-90741129 / 90742219 or email: victorsltan@klscc.com