Pro-Active Vision Work Translates to Real Results

Pro-Active Vision Work Translates to Real Results
The Brandsoup Agency has built its client success on a foundation of connecting vision with reality. There is a well defined process for making this happen that can be embraced by all levels of a company. Following this process will increase likelihood of success for the company and its employees in any economic environment.

-- This process lets companies come up with a shared vision, and build collaborative teams to make it happen at all levels of the organization. --

Vision Deployment Matrix – developed by Daniel Kim
The Vision Deployment Matrix (VDM) is a thinking tool that enables organizations to move from reactive to proactive in its thinking and planning. It fosters collaboration and links company vision to all levels of the company, ensuring ownership and participation while also “closing the gap” between vision and current reality. By utilizing this tool across the company, employees and management not only have greater ownership of the vision, but also a better understand of their roles in making it happen. Note that the VDM process is a continuous and iterative one that evolves as the organization grows.

The Vision Deployment Matrix (VDM) has been used by a variety of companies, organizations and government agencies including NASA, Air Force, NSA, HP and others.

The prescription for change for your company using the VDM model will be a multi-step evolutionary process. The beginning steps are universal.

First, management must endorse and promote this process to ensure everyone in the company knows this is a priority and will require their time. Management should let employees know explicitly what the current challenge is and why this process is being undertaken and that this will be an evolutionary process with the goal to ensure vision becomes reality.

The message from management to the employees may be something like this:
“We are embarking on an aggressive communication plan to let our customers (current and future) know who we are and what we do and stand for (is there a new product or thrust?). This process is to ensure that everyone has a say in that communication and what it contains. And that the company is committed to following through and delivering whatever message(s) we are making. “

Second, employees will be asked for their input to questions like:
- Who is (our company)?
- What are you most proud of? What is your most valued accomplishment here?
- Where have you had the most successes? What do you believe are the company’s best successes? Why?

The goal is to find out not only their perception, but also their beliefs within the system. Asking the right questions will uncover known and unknown strengths (and weaknesses) of the company.

Third, the information from the interviews will be brought back to the core cross-functional team to reflect on and begin formulating a desired future goal for the company.

Fourth, the cross-functional team goes to work identifying the gaps between desired future and current reality and how each functional area can contribute to making the new vision happen.

As with any learning and thinking tool, this will be an evolutionary process (and a process pulled from a military model of assessment after battle): Observe, Assess, Develop, Implement and a last added step Reflect. The military began to add this last step to their process in order to learn from each battle or assessment to better the next one.

The tool itself, the matrix, is a 5 x 4 grid (although there are various versions where teams add action columns in order to track progress against the vision). The vertical axis is the Level of Reasoning, which represents the various layers of complexity and perspective from which a situation can be viewed. The horizontal axis represents the desired future and current reality, along with a four-phase iterative learning cycle: observe, assess, develop and execute which is essentially the continuous process of discovery to fill the Vision Deployment Matrix.

The VDM process starts with a question: “What is it we want to create,” or retrospectively, “What do we seem to be creating?” The question should be posed across the organization. Themes begin to emerge and the VDM cross-functional team can start to work on a model for change. As part of this process, finding a “reflective partner” that can help you walk through your thinking is helpful. Often a consultant or outside partner is brought in to coach and provide a reflective partner for the core team charged with this process.

“When top managers announce their vision for organizational transformation, their employees often fail to produce tangible results. Managers then conclude that people resist change and must be persuaded to accept it. What they fail to realize is that people resist being changed when it’s imposed from the outside. Daniel Kim’s Vision Deployment Matrix reveals a powerful process for creating an enduring shared vision that engages and inspires staff at all levels of an organization. The matrix helps everyone understand the current reality, the desired future reality, the gaps between the two, and the actions that should be taken to close the gap.”
Exerpt from “The Dance of Change” by Peter Senge

The secret in the power of the Vision Deployment matrix is not in filling in the form, it is in the process of discovery. The real benefit of realizing powerful collaboration and results directed by a vision that resonates in the organization, can only be found through the process of discovery guided by the VDM tool.

Here (above) is a sample of the Vision Deployment Matrix. The chasm is the gap between current reality and desired future which the VDM process addresses.

Management without Fear

In this economic climate it’s easy for an organization to dissolve into a reactive environment. Without a strong vision for the company, management and employees can get distracted by the bad news from Wall Street, from other companies’ failure and general bad news that seems to surround us these days.

It is well documented that companies that invest in downtimes emerge first, fastest and strongest when the economy begins to recover. It is essential that management remain steadfast in providing a strong vision and clear direction to employees during this time. With employees becoming restless and fearful during this time of bad news at every turn, what can management do to keep everyone focused and create a healthy work environment that encourages innovation, dedication and ultimately yes, success? Here are a few tips:

1. Manage to facts, not perception. Keep a solid benchmark in front of employees about the health of the company, its clients and use key measurements to ensure everyone knows where they are today.
2. When dealing with concerns from employees, help them determine whether it’s material or non-material. In other words, is this a concern that really impacts the success of the company? If so, then address it with a plan mapped out to resolve it. If it’s not material, in other words it’s not relevant to the success of the company, then find out what the source may be and just keep it to the facts. I have found that in times of uncertainty and stress, employees can begin to react out of fear and worrying about what their colleagues are doing – management should do what it can to keep employees focused on their own job and keeping their eye on the ball.
3. Frequently do an “environment check.” Is there “noise” in the system? What are the internal conversations – again, are they material to the success of the company or are they simply distracting? It’s important for management to keep their finger on the pulse of the organization.
4. Keep things clear. One certain way to help alleviate fears is to clearly define what success looks like. Does every employee in the organization know quite clearly what success looks like for them, and then how that translates to the success of the company? Take the time to do this; it will be well worth it.

sustainability

What are the trends you're seeing in the "green" space? What is green anyway? At the core of any good business model is one that takes into account the fundamentals such as profitability and sustainability - how can you create a business model that creates value for customers while also delivering enough profitability back to the company to sustain it over time. Beyond this, companies must also now take into account the environmental sustainability of the business. These factors include fuel consumption, emissions output, recycling, non-toxic work environment that includes non-chemical based paints, carpets and more. Just as consumers are seeking ways to be more well-rounded, healthy and live a well-balanced life, companies too are looking for ways to be good environmental citizens and that also means just plain good business. What was once considered "tree hugging" is now considered good common sense to ensure our way of life is sustainable for many generations to come. What are your thoughts? What should companies start doing today to be good stewards of the environment? What can they do that will show an immediate impact to their bottom line as well?

going green in Houston

I recently spent some time talking to Rev 1 Houston owner Erik Ibarra, and New Living CEO Jeff Kaplan. Is Houston really home to more and more green companies? The answer is absolutely yes. We talked about a concept of creating a Green Houston event where we can raise visibility to Houston-based green related companies - both large and small. The concept is simple - create a community event at various locations throughout the city to highlight local green businesses. Are you interested in being a part of this? Email tracy@brandsoup.com and let's see what we can create.

The Brandsoup Agency founder Tracy Rummel 

Brand thoughts

I created this blog for two reasons:

1. Learn more about blogs
2. Share thoughts about the concept of Brand

The concept of brand has evolved over time, and many people have defined it in new and interesting ways. What is most relevant to your business is that brand will drive value. At the heart of taking a pro-active role in the development of your brand, is understanding your customer. I'm not talking about volumes of market research; I'm talking about direct knowledge of your customer. Observe. Listen. Learn. Interact. Share. Improve. It's a continual process and an open dialog with your customers and your would-be customers.

Is brand relevant for everyone? Let me ask you this: is your name important to you? Would you want to be known as the guy who lives next to the big tree on the corner? Or would you want to be Bob who loves golf and spends time volunteering at United Way? Know your customers. Let your customers know you. Then they decide whether they want to do business with you - and this will be your own market research!

Recommended title, "Blink"

In the concept of brand is also the concept of communicating your message QUICKLY. So, that in a noisy, busy, fast-paced day, your customers and prospects hear you, understand you and take action to buy your product or service.

In the book "Blink" by Malcom Gladwell, he captures the essence of the concept of the snap judgements we all make. As marketers, we have 5 seconds or less to get the attention of our customers. What will your customer's snap judgement be? Will they even hear what you have to say? How do you get noticed? There are new strategies to get attention - but which ones work? Email marketing? Online promotion? Feet-on-the-street programs? Which ones have worked best for your company?