The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Gladwell, Malcolm Essay - 1

The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Gladwell, Malcolm - Essay Example Gladwell discusses the â€Å"storytelling problem† which is basically an idea that tells how people grow wrong records of their decisions and perspectives. People make stories unknowingly which bolster their choices and activities. I do accept that the perspective an individual is greatly affects his/her dynamic aptitudes, and the perspective is controlled to an enormous degree by the earth. The author’s procedure as an essayist was commonly very reasonable. I concur with a large portion of the author’s focuses, however I somewhat differ once in a while. What I like about it is that the creator has endeavored to cause the crowds to understand the effect of the earth on their choices that they customarily consider coming totally from them. This proposes determination of the perfect spot and the opportune time are pre-essentials of settling on a correct choice. I discover the narrating issue a bit of befuddling on the grounds that I for one don’t very concur that people will in general grow wrong records of their ownâ behaviors.â

Surprise! Youre Always on a Job Interview!

Shock! Youre Always on a Job Interview! As indicated by Nance Rosen over at The Personal Branding Blog, 85% of recruiting comes down to character and demeanor and as meager as 15% may be subject to expertise, since you can be prepared to do for all intents and purposes anything at work. One approach to get ready for a prospective employee meeting is envisioning you’re being talked with constantly. I don’t mean when you’re at home or with family or in the shower (despite the fact that I do rehearse my meeting spiel in the shower every day, to my husband’s bemusement), yet in the event that you’re working in a field where you connect with the general population, remember that any individual you communicate with could sometime be on the opposite finish of an occupation posting.Employers need great individuals who are submitted and occupied with whatever activity they’ve found for themselves. The sorts of individuals who settle on recruiting choices are assessing each salesman, client support rep, assistant, VP, deals executive, and barista they experience on the off chance that you consider your connections in a purposeful, conscious way, you have many opportunities to establish an incredible connection each day.We all have lousy days obviously, when we don’t want to converse with anybody and putting on an open face feels too hard to even consider enduring. Yet, the more regularly you fire up for an undetectable meeting, the more natural the procedure will be when it’s time to really get ready. From looking to being liberal with your time and ability, everything has a method of paying itself forward to your next large chance.

The Ultimate Guide to Infographic Marketing

The Ultimate Guide to Infographic Marketing Infographics have become the favorite tool among marketers. It isn’t any wonder as they can be educational, entertaining and great for engaging with the audience. But creating a good infographic isn’t always easy. © Shutterstock | Sergey KorkinThis guide will look at what infographics are all about and why they are such good marketing tools. We’ll then provide you tips on the do’s and don’ts of infographics, before equipping you with a simple 6-step guide to creating effective infographics.WHAT ARE INFOGRAPHICS AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?What is an infograph? The Oxford dictionary definition states it is “a visual representation of information or data, e.g. as a chart or diagram”. Furthermore, the dictionary claims, “a good infographic is worth a thousand words”.Indeed, an infograph is a representation of information in a graphic format aimed to help make this information easily accessible and understandable. It can convey a story within a glance and provide information to its reader much quicker than a written document.Infographics have a number of benefits on their side when it comes to highlighting information.Quickly communicating a messageSimplifying and visualizing a large amo unt of informationNoticing patterns and relationships in dataMonitoring changes in specific variables during a specific timeframeFurthermore, infographics are often used in the business world for high-level views of data.Another great benefit for infographics is that they come in a variety of designs. Different infograph designs include: bar graphs, pie charts, histograms, line charts and mind maps, for example.Below is a short and informative video about infographics: Why are infographics good for marketing?As the above already showed, infographics have plenty of benefits and they can be powerful tools in sharing information. In fact, infographics predate the use of writing as a communication tool. The early cave drawings were among the first infographics in human existence.The main reason for their popularity is the simplification of information. People prefer to view a summarized and visual collection of data, as this can save time and energy. With an infograph, the person is abl e to instantly see the main point.In fact, studies have shown repeatedly how 90% of the information we remember comes from a visual impact. A good infograph will stick in your mind and create an impact â€" perfect for advertising.In addition, infographics are efficient tools for catching someone’s attention. In the business world, using an infographic can increase customer engagement. Customers are more likely to stop and view an infograph than spend minutes reading a long leaflet with no images.Finally, infographics are an efficient way to disseminate information. This makes them a powerful tool for marketing. People tend to be more focused on reading information from infographics and in the age of the social media, they tend to pass on the interactive and engaging things they see. Since infographics are visually pleasing, but also contain new information, people find them easily sharable.Great and not so great examples of infographics.[slideshare id=51777276doc=buzzmachinegreati nfographicsslideshare-150818181238-lva1-app6892w=640h=330]THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF INFOGRAPHICSWhilst infographics tend to be extremely useful in disseminating information, creating an effective infograph isn’t as easy as it sounds. Some practices are better than others when it comes to infographics.Below we list the most common good and bad practices of infographics. By understanding these points, you can make sure you emphasize the useful aspects and avoid the lousy things.The do’s of infographicsThe first thing you should always do with an infograph is to tell a story. You don’t want to just pour data on a chart and slam it online. The infograph should always include a beginning, middle and an end.Learn from Pixar how to tell a story.[slideshare id=28123780doc=pixar-22-rules-to-phenomenal-storytelling-powerfulpoint-slideshare-131111112132-phpapp01w=640h=330]The information you are trying to disseminate should always say something interesting. Use the information carefully to tell a story to the viewer.Consider asking questions such as:How can I introduce the topic to the viewer? (The beginning)What is the main message I’m trying to project? (The middle)What do I want the viewer to take away from the information? (The end)You probably have plenty of cool data at your use and a mind full of ideas. But make sure you keep your message simple. Infographics are at their best when they aren’t filled with too much information. Your story, and the main point, should be concise and simple enough to understand.If your infographic looks messy, long, or it contains too much small text, the viewer is unlikely going to maintain interest. Remember the power of infographics lies in their ability to simplify a message. The famous mantra of “less is more” definitely applies to infographics.Whilst visual information is more appealing to people, you also need to remember that your infograph is likely going to compete with many other visual cues. In fact, between 2010 and 2012 the search volume for infographics increased by over 800%.The popularity of infographics means you need to think outside of the box.Your message should be interesting and the way you present it must be quirky, surprising and fun. Do look for different ways of visualizing the data and consider unique uses of color and font.Furthermore, the typical infograph outline tends to be one column, highlighting information in vertical format. But you could opt for a multi-column approach, break the sizes of sections or even change backgrounds for each part of the infograph.In addition, an effective infograph takes advantage of visual metaphors. Instead of simply writing down “3 out 4 recruiters check candidate’s social media profiles”, you could use small human figures and highlight three of the figures with a specific color, for instance.You should use common associations as well. For example, if you are talking about holidays, you could incorporate planes, the sun and be ach into your infograph. In short, if you can say it with an image, then do so.Finally, an infograph must always reveal its sources. You didn’t plug the data from thin air â€" if you did, you should check the don’ts of infographics below â€" and you need to let the viewer know the source.Infographics can often be used for commercial and research purposes and by including the source, you make life easier for the person who’s using your data. Not to mention, you show accountability and transparency. The sources don’t need to take a centre stage; just include them at the bottom in smaller print and include URLs if possible.This is how experts create an infographic. The don’ts of infographicsPerhaps the most important thing to avoid with infographics is not to create them just for the sake of it. Yes, infographics are a powerful tool for businesses and they can be a great way to catch people’s attention. But if you don’t have anything to say, you shouldn’t just force a m essage on your infograph. Always have a message and a story to tell before creating an infograph.In addition, while you can certainly use infographics for marketing purposes, you shouldn’t ever use them just for this purpose. Don’t push your brand, product or service through an infograph, as it won’t give you the kind of engagement you are looking for.Don’t get over excited with data, even if you have plenty of it available. You shouldn’t include every piece of information on the specific topic â€" only the data that supports your message and is a central part of it.For instance, you could gather plenty of information regarding the use of social media, but not all of this information is necessary for telling a story. You can’t expect to reveal everything, but you should narrow your focus. Perhaps you just want to highlight the amount of time children spend on Facebook, instead of including all the age groups.As well as avoiding stuffing your infograph with data, you also shouldn’t include too many cool features to your design. It’s easy to get overexcited about the different opportunities â€" You could use so many different colors, images, metaphors and fonts. But adding design tricks just for the sake of it can lead to a messy and confusing design.Infographics come with a headline and the key to a good headline is not revealing the main argument. Let’s say your main message is that “Ketchup is the favorite condiment”. This is straightforward and people might look at it and move on. It doesn’t have the hook to ensure people read on or pass on the message. Your headline should give a sneak peak to the story, but not reveal the main argument. For example, “World’s favorite condiment revealed” or “What do people put on their plate?” could have a more hooking effect.Finally, although perhaps most importantly, you shouldn’t lie in your infograph. You shouldn’t plug data out of thin air, you shouldn’t distort existing data to suit your message and you shouldn’t omit anything that might be crucial for getting the real picture. If you do so, you are only hurting your brand.KEY STEPS OF CREATING AN INFOGRAPHICIf you want to avoid the classic mistakes and ensure your infographics are informative, engaging and effective, the following steps will guide you through the process.Step #1: Select your topicFirst, it’s crucial to pick the topic for your infographic. This will ensure you define your message clearly and outline the objectives for your project.You should start by asking what is your area of expertise. What topic would relate to your business or the product? In terms of marketing, it’s important to relate the infograph to your business. Otherwise, consumers might find it a little confusing. It’s especially important to ensure the topic is appropriate in terms of your brand image.If you have data already gathered, you can look at it and wonder what message you would like to communicate to your au dience. Perhaps you’ve done market research and found that people who use your product are also fans of ice cream. Why is that? Could you present it in a fun way?Consider carefully whether an infographic is the best way to communicate your message. Could you perhaps make a video or write a blog post instead? As mentioned above, don’t create an infograph just for the sake of it.As well as using your existing data, you should also look at the trends within your industry. What’s currently the hot topic? You could check out Google Trends for inspiration or keep your eyes on social media chatter.Finally, you can also find topic ideas from your old content. Perhaps you’ve written a blog post in the past that continues to be popular. Is there a way to turn it into an infograph?Step #2: Identify the target audienceYou should also identify the target audience for your message. Who are you trying to reach? Consider narrowing down the target market by looking at metrics such as:The age The genderThe educationThe professionWhether they are a consumer or a businessJust like with any marketing, you must understand what appeals to your target market. If you are reaching out to 40+ lawyers, you probably shouldn’t be using youth slang and images relating to current youth culture. Different things appeal to different people.When you have your target audience identified, you can look more closely at data on the things they like. What are they currently interested? What information matters to them?Don’t just focus on the message, but also the style. Young people might not be as easily shocked or surprised. On the other hand, older people might prefer cleaner and leaner infographics. Ensure you don’t make stupid or out-dated assumptions about your target market, though. For example, not all women get excited about fluffy pink things. In fact, a full on pink and glittery design might come across as misogynistic.Step #3: Conduct research on the messageWhen you have your message ready and your target audience defined, it’s time to start researching the topic more closely. What data supports the key message?Your data processing should follow the format of:Gathering data (e.g. surveying people/reading up on research) - aggregating all of your data - analyzing your data - finding the arguments for supporting the messageRemember you can use outside data as well. Statistics and data are available from sources such as the World Bank, Google Trends, Infochimps national census databases, and so on. Try to ensure your data comes from an established and legitimate source. This gives your infographic more credibility and authority.Step #4: Create your infographicOnce you have all the raw data available and you know the target audience, you can start designing the infographic.First, you should write the story. You want to create a compelling narrative that ties all of your wonderful data together. Come up with a powerful headline, and create the beginning, m iddle and end to your story.Some tips from MIT on story writing.[slideshare id=41373672doc=10mitstorytelling-141110152016-conversion-gate01w=640h=330]A written narrative can aid you during the designing process. Perhaps you can pick out cool aspects of the message that can easily be turned into an image. Come up with different ways to support the storyline with images, colors and such visual aspects.During this process, it’s important to keep in mind the points covered in the previous section. Focus on clarity, innovation and highlighting the message. Ask yourself “How can the data be visualized in a way that the reader understands the message?” A good infograph is above all easy to understand, not a puzzle to be solved.It’s important to brainstorm a few different ideas and design for separate infographics. The first idea isn’t always the best; don’t be afraid to tweak and think outside of the box.You definitely want to test the infograph with real audience before you un leash it to the world. You could ask the team to show it to their friends and family, or conduct a small focus group session online. Either way, gather feedback and make changes accordingly.Step #5: Promote your infographicWhen you’ve created your masterpiece, you can’t simply add it to your blog and Tweet it once. Don’t wait for the world to find it, but promote your lovingly created design.Ensure the infograph is easily sharable â€" i.e. include buttons for instant sharing on different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You should also provide an HTML embed code to ensure people are able to add the infographic to their content.Promote and share the content on your own social media. To make posts a bit different and unique, you can choose to include a different thumbnail for each post and to accompany the link with a different message.Always include relevant hashtags to your posts. If you sent out an e-mail letter, then consider adding a link to t he infograph along with a thumbnail to your message.But it’s not just you and the viewers of the infograph who can do promotion. First, you might want to share your infographic on different infographic directories. There are quite a few free options out there, although you can also increase your chances by paying for a bit of promotion.Some great sites include:Visual.lyInfographics ShowcaseSubmit InfographicsDaily StatisticsIn addition, you should reach out to bloggers as well. You can find influencers and active bloggers in related fields to your infographic and contact them about posting your infographic.For example, you might find a blog post on a similar topic to what your infographic is all about. Contact the owner and tell them how you liked the post. Ask if they’d be interested in viewing an infographic on a related topic. They might say ‘yes’ and find your infograph so good they want to feature it on the blog.Step #6: Measure the impactYou’re not done just yet. You shouldn’t just conduct a bit of promotion and then forget about the project. It’s also essential to measure the impact of the infograph.According to Social Media Explorer, the focus should be on measuring:Awareness â€" Focus on tangible metrics such as:Inbound linksPage viewsSearchesSEO rankingSubscribersEngagement levels â€" Measure tangible metrics like:Average time viewing the infographicCommentsSocial sharingFurthermore, when it comes to measuring the impact of an infographic, and more importantly the return on investment (ROI), there are two competing opinions. Some believe ROI doesn’t matter at all, since infographics are only about ‘engagement’.On the other hand, others believe only by proving a profitable ROI can you justify creating infographics. The reality lies somewhere in between. You should measure both tangible and non-tangible metrics, as outlined above.While it’s definitely worth measuring the cost of creating your infograph in relation to the monetary benefits you obtained, the financial metrics don’t tell the whole story.Once you’ve gathered data on how your infographic was received, utilize it on your next project. It can be a great way of improving your infographics and ensuring you become the master in creating them. 99 â€" The Ultimate Guide to Infographic Marketing

How to Save Energy in an Office Building - 575 Words

Modern offices are a cluster of technology and coffee. The constantly evolving world in which all businesses must operate necessitate a commitment to being energy efficient. Initially, it is possible to reduce the energy consumption for a business, with some relatively small steps. Collecting all the waste paper from the office bins, to be mulched and compressed into fuel bricks, which are then burned to produce the heat for the office, is one step too far for most businesses. However, these small steps take just a few minutes to carry out and will reap large reductions in energy usage. Turn off unused desktop computers and screens. Desktop computers and their screens are huge energy sapping devices, which just happen to be sat on every desk in the office. When a screen or a computer is not being used, they should be put into sleep mode to reduce the amount of electricity they are using. Leaving computers and screens turned on whilst someone has their lunch break will cost the company hundreds over the course of a year, yet it will take a few clicks to tun everything off for the hour. Indeed, it has become pretty common practice to leave a computer on in hibernation mode over night to save the employee a few minutes in the morning. This means that the computer has been drawing electricity all night long for no really productive value. Turning off computers and screens is a really small step to start making huge reductions in energy consumption. Buy a coffee machineShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Importance of Establishing a Green Work Environment780 Words   |  4 Pagesreminded to turn off the lights before we leave a room, use less hot water, purchase energy-efficient appliances. These are all great ideas and ones that should be incorporated into our work environments. Going green in the workplace can save employers money while benefiting the environment. Some of the key factors to keep in mind when choosing to go green at work include: †¢ The benefits of a green work environment †¢ How a green workplace can improve efficiency. †¢ Eco-smart supplies and equipmentRead MoreThe University Of British Columbia1380 Words   |  6 Pagesmanagement, green building design, sustainable residential community and engaging students, staff, and faculties all work together to achieve their goal. In term of environmental sustainability, the university of British Columbia has practiced on many fields; however, the climate and energy, water, and recycling wastes are three main practices they are working on. Finding Discussion: The university of British Columbia has carried out a climate action plan. In spite of growing their building floor spaceRead MoreA Green Roof1271 Words   |  6 PagesPittsburgh, leaving not much room for green space. The solution to this dilemma is a garden high in the sky, a green roof. 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How could the termite’s ingenious passive cooling system be utilised to help fight global warming? Hypothesis: The termite’s passive cooling system can be used in architecture to greatly reduce electricity usage needed for air-conditioning. Aim: To determine how the termite’s passive cooling system can be mimicked in architecture to reduce electricity needed for air-conditioningRead MoreThe Human Initiatives Towards Better Life899 Words   |  4 Pagesprocesses consisting of many intermediate activities which negatively impacts the environment. How much renewable energy is needed and how much of the costs and energy waste is reduced depends on using proper and efficient manufacturing processes. Adobe is an Information Technology company and hence there is no significant carbon emission as part of the manufacturing process itself other than the carbon emission, energy usage, etc. from the facilities and from the infrastructure used for air conditioning

The Spread of Buddhism Essay - 1149 Words

The Spread of Buddhism Buddhism is a philosophy, a moral code, and, for some a religious faith which originated in 530 BC in India. Buddhism evolved as a modification of Hinduism when Hinduism started to become very complicated due to too many sacrifices in the name of God. Today, an estimated 300 million people follow one of the many varieties of Buddhism. Budda, or Siddhartha Guatama which means the awakened one had the religion named after him because he founded the ideas behind Buddhism. Budda, a very wealthy man, was not fulfilled with his life. One day, he decided to leave his home and wondered through the forest, nearly starving himself to death, in search of the answer to his discontent. Nearing death, a woman found†¦show more content†¦The traditionalists, now referred to as Sthaviravada or way of the elders developed a complex set of philosophical ideas beyond those taught by Buddha. These were collected into the Abhidharma or higher teachings. But they, too, encouraged disagreements, so that one group after another left the fold. Ultimately, 18 schools developed, each with their own interpretations of various issues, and spread all over India and Southeast Asia. A significant development happened at the same time as the Buddhist movement began to spread and that was the opening of a new way through, from India to China. Today, we call this way the Silk Road, and we associate it with famous travelers like Marco Polo, whose journeys to China astounded the Europeans of his day. The route was first established by the Chinese in search of horses and trade. It dates back to the second century BC. From that time, it became a regular journey for traders seeking to make a small fortune. In the following centuries, the route fell under control of different political groups, but was always well used until the 15th century AD when sea trade dominated. 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The word Buddhism is derived from the word â€Å"budhi†, to awaken, so it makes sense that the creation of the religion begins with its founder’s awakening. It is said that Buddhism started in the 6th century due to the actions of its

New Moon Book Report Free Essays

This book report is being written for Mr. Reynold Bassant, lecturer for Comparative Literature. The book which was carefully selected is New Moon, it was written by Stephanie Meyer, one of the most promising new authors of this century. We will write a custom essay sample on New Moon Book Report or any similar topic only for you Order Now The book has 563 pages and was first published in hard cover by Little Brown and Company in September 2006, in the United States of America. After mass circulation and the sale of two million copies, the book became the New York Times Number One bestseller for 2007. It was later published in soft cover by First Media Tie in September 2009. As a sequel to The Twilight Saga, New Moon is now a major motion picture which has received numerous accolades. Even though this saga comes in four parts- Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, I chose to do this review on the second saga because it best documents the sacrifices, heartaches and forgiveness one faces in the trials of true love and friendship. What makes the book even more exciting is the fact that Meyer chooses to weave this web of friendship with a mortal human, a wolf boy and a 145-year-old vampire. I find the book intriguing because Meyer has created an amazing hybrid of romance, tragedy and adventure wrapped between the covers of this exciting sequel. The main characters of the book are Bella Swan, a 17-year-old high school student, her childhood friend and werewolf Jacob Black and Edward Cullen, a mind-reading vampire. Bella moves out of her mother’s home in Phoenix and goes to live with her father Charlie, who is a Sheriff. She promptly falls in love with Edward. Meanwhile, Jacob is a proud descendant of the Quileutes Indian tribe who lives in a reservation called La Push. He and several other Quileutes are honour bound to protect the town from blood thirsty vampires. Because of this both Edward and Jacob are mortal enemies and Bella is trapped in between her star-crossed supernatural love for Edward and her genuine friendship with Jacob. The villains of the book are Victoria, a revengeful vampire, and the ancient Volturi vampire family who uphold law and order among their immortal clan. Other important characters in this book are Edwards’s family- father Carlisle, mother Esme, sisters Rosalie and Alice and his brothers, Emmett and Jasper. Like Edward they are all â€Å"vegetarian vampires† who survive on animal blood. Carlisle is a prominent doctor who saves Bella’s life on two occasions. Alice is psychic who has an uncanny ability to predict the future. Her skill weaves a hypnotic thrill of suspense as she sets the pace for the various scenes in the book. Jasper can control moods with his mind while Emmett has brute strength. Rosalie is considered the most beautiful of the group while Esme is the glue that holds the family together. Meanwhile, Bella’s mother Rene and step-father Phil lives in Florida and keeps regular contact with her through e-mail. Jacob’s father is Billy, a wheel-chair bound Quileute warrior who holds all the secrets of La Push. There are at least six wolves headed by Sam Uley and includes Leah and Seth Clearwater, Quil Atera and Embry Call who safeguard human life in Forks and La Push. New Moon is undeniably a suspense thriller. The book is mainly set in the contemporary rainy town of Forks, located in Washington DC in the United States of America. Most of the scenes take place at Forks, at the La Push Indian reservation, located a few miles away, the town of Port Angeles and finally at Italy where the Volturi clan resides. Both Bella and Edward attend the Forks High school where they spend time with other friends such as Jessica Stanley, Angela and Mike Newton. But in the second chapter when Jasper attempts to attack Bella, Edward becomes concerned and decides to leave Bella so that she could enjoy her human life with someone from her own clan. He makes the ultimate sacrifice knowing that Bella could never fit into his world. When Edward leaves, Bella spends three months as a mere shadow of her former self. She becomes introverted and it was only when Charlie decides to send her back to Jacksonville with her mother that she decides to visit Jacob. She gives him two motorbikes to repair and starts spending all her afternoons at the Reservation. Bella soon realises that whenever she does anything risky, she hears Edward’s voice in her head, cautioning her. She becomes dependant on his voice in her head. When she jumps off a cliff to skydive, Alice gets a vision and Edward believes that Bella had committed suicide. Unable to live with himself, he goes to the Volturi hoping that they can end his life. The Volturi leaders Aro, Caius and Marcus refuse as they value Edward’s mind reading gift. Edward decides to reveal himself to Italians knowing that the ultimate penalty for such exposure would be death. But Alice gets another vision of Edward’s intentions and takes Bella to Italy to save him. She manages to stop him before he commits the act. But the Volturi captures them both. They eventually release Bella and Edward after they both confess their love. They are allowed to leave only when Edward promises to change Bella into a vampire. When they return home, Jacob is broken hearted because he had fallen in love with Bella and cannot believe that she would return to Edward after he rejected her. The book shows the trials of sacrifice and the tragedy of love, especially love that is star-crossed. Although New Moon is a fascinating book filled with myths and legends of ancient tribes, it is unfortunate that Meyer chooses to associate suicide with love. The book reveals that both Edward and Bella cannot live without each other. They both sacrifice themselves for each other’s happiness. While this is commendable, I believe that the emphasis on suicide in the final scene with the Volturi, as well as Bella’s apparent desire to die by doing risky things, is not healthy for the impressionable young readers who read this exciting trilogy. I also find fascinating the plot that Meyer uses where Bella saves Edward. This is a refreshing change from the usual plots where the hero saves the damsels in distress. There is also a strong emphasis on the importance of family and friendship which I find commendable. Therefore, I will definitely recommend this book to other readers as it is impossible to stop reading this sequel once you get started. The book gives one an insight into the sacrifices that we humans would make, in our quest to protect those whom we love. How to cite New Moon Book Report, Papers

Creating a Sense of Mission free essay sample

10 Long Range Planning, Vol. 24, No. 4, pp. 10 to 20, 1991 Printed in Great Britain 0024-6301/91 $3. 00 + . OO Pergamon Press plc Creating Andrew Campbell a Sense of Mission and Sally Yeung Mission is still a relatively neglected area of management, and there is no clear agreement on what it encompasses. The Ashridge Strategic Management Centre conducted a 2-year research project designed to fill this gap. The research found that if mission is more clearly defined it can be managed better, and developed a model of mission that includes four elements -purpose, strategy, behaviour standards and values. The project identified companies where, in addition to strong links between these elements, employees also showedan emotional commitment to their company which Campbell has called a Sense of mission’. This commitment was deepest when there was a match between the employee’s values and the company% values. others see it as the bedrock of a company’s strength, identity and success-its personality and character. Despite the diversity of opinion about mission, it is possible to distinguish two schools of thought. Broadly speaking, one approach describes mission in terms of business strategy, while the other expresses mission in terms of philosophy and ethics. The strategy school of thought views mission primarily as a strategic tool, an intellectual discipline which defines the business’s commercial rationale and target market. Mission is something that is linked to strategy but at a higher level. In this context, it is perceived as the first step in strategic management. It exists to answer two fundamental questions: ‘what is our business and what should it be? ‘. The strategy school of mission owes its birth to an article, ‘Marketing Myopia’, which appeared in the Harvard Businesr Review in 1960. ’ The author, Ted Levitt, a Harvard marketing professor, argued that many companies have the wrong business definition. Most particularly, companies define their businesses too narrowly. Levitt reasoned that a railroad company should see its business as moving people rather than. railroading, an oil company should define its business as energy and a company making tin cans should see itself as a packaging Levitt argued, should spend business. Managers, time carefully defining their business so that they focus on customer need rather than on production technology. More recently, it has become common for companies to include a statement of what their business is in the annual report. The cover of the 1988 annual report of Redland, a roofing, aggregates and construction materials company, is an example. It reads: Spanning the Roojing World with Aggregates Many managers misunderstand the nature and importance of mission, while others fail to consider it at all. As far back as 1973, Peter Drucker’ and business observed : ‘That business purpose mission are so rarely given adequate thought is perhaps the most important cause of business frustration and failure’. Unfortunately, his comment is as true today as it was then. Understanding Mission? The reason for this neglect is due in part to the fact that mission is still a relatively uncharted arca of management. Most management thinkers have given mission only a cursory glance, and there is little research into its nature and importance. What research there is has been devoted to analysing mission statements and attempting to develop checklists of items that should be addressed in the statement. * Indeed, a major problem is that mission has become a meaningless term-no two academics or managers agree on the same definition. Some speak of mission as if it is commercial evangelism, others talk about strong corporate cultures and still others talk about business definitions. Some view mission as an esoteric and somewhat irrelevant preoccupation which haunts senior managers, while Andrew Campbell is a founding Director and Fellow of the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre. He is co-author of Strategies and Styles. A Sense of Mission, and Mission and Business Philosophy. Sally Yeung is a Research Associate at Ashridge Strategic Management Centre and co-author with Andrew Campbell of Do YOU Needa Mission Statement? Construction Bricks Materials Creating The first page of the 1989 annual report of British Telecom reads: ‘British Telecom’s mission is to provide world class telecommunications and information products and services and to develop and exploit our networks at home and overseas’. Corning Glass states: ‘We are dedicated to the total success of Corning Glass Works as a worldwide competitor. We choose to compete in four broad business sectors. One is Specialty Glass and Ceramics, our historical base, where our technical skills will continue to drive the development of an everbroadening range of products for diverse applications. The other three arc Consumer Housewares, and Telecommunications. Laboratory Sciences, Here we will build on existing strengths, and the needs of the markets we serve will dictate the technologies we use and the range of products and services we provide’. In contrast, the second school of thought argues that mission is the cultural ‘glue’ which enables an organization to function as a collective unity. This cultural glue consists ofstrong norms and values that influence the way in which people behave, how they work together and how they pursue the goals of the organization. This form of mission can amount to a business philosophy which helps employees to perceive and interpret events in the same way and to speak a common language. Compared to the strategic view of mission, this interpretation sees mission as capturing some of the emotional aspects of the organization. It is concerned with generating co-operation among employees through shared values and standards of bchaviour. IBM seems to subscribe to the cultural view of mission. The company describes its mission in terms of a distinct business philosophy, which in turn produces strong cultural norms and values. In his book, A Business and its Belief, Thomas J. Watson Jr described these beliefs, many of which were established by his father, and insisted that they have been the central pillar of the company’s success. Watson asserted : ‘The only sacred cow in an organization should be its basic philosophy of doing business’. For IBM, ‘the basic philosophy, spirit and drive of the business’ lies in three concepts: respect for the individual, dedication to service and a quest for superiority in all things. The importance ofother factors which contribute to commercial success, such as technological and economic resources, is ‘transcended by how strongly the people in the organization believe in its basic precepts and how faithfully they carry them out’. † Is it possible to reconcile these two different interpretations? Are they conflicting theories or are they simply separate parts of the same picture? We believe these theories can be synthesized into a comprehensive single description of mission. We also believe that some of the confusion over mission exists because of a failure to appreciate that it is ,n Sense of Mission 11 issue which involves both the hearts (culture) and minds (strategy) of employees. It is something which straddles the world of business and the world of the individual. In the pages that follow we outline a framework that defines mission. The value of this framework is that it helps managers to think clearly about mission and, more importantly, it helps them to discuss mission with their colleagues. Previously, managers have had an intuitive understanding of mission. Intuition is not, however, enough. Mission needs to be managed and it can be managed better if it is clearly defined. Building a Definition of Mission We have developed our theory of mission both through an intellectual, top down process and through discussions with managers and employees. Through this approach, we have tried to build an understanding of mission that is firmly grounded in the day-to-day realities of corporate life (see Table I). We focused on managers in companies with a strong sense of purpose and a strong culture. We wanted to know why they were committed to their organizations, and if they had a sense of the company’s mission. They responded by telling us about the behaviour patterns and behaviour standards in their companies. They brimmed with stories about why their companies were special. In Marks and Spencer, a retailer known for its high quality and value for money, employees talked about quality and value. They described the high standards they demanded of themselves and their suppliers. One manager commented: ‘The M S standards were much higher than those I had worked with before. It appealed to me and I became hooked. Before I had set my standards to conform with the group of people with whom I associated. I was fairly lazy. I found at M S I had to work harder than I had ever worked at school, but it was attractive because the standards that were set were so high and to fall short of them would be letting myself down’. They enthused about good human relations and visible management: ‘I have had 27 years in Marks and Spencer. What was it that appealed to me when I joined? It was that the senior levels were real people and real personalities, even for me in a relatively low position. It wasn’t that I spent a lot of time with them but rather it was the apocryphal stories that were handed down to me that made me feel I had met them. The organization had a strong personality and I could identify with the policies, people and practices of the business. The Board have enough visibility so that I have a good idea of what they want from me. ’ 12 Long Range Planning Vol. 24 August 1993 morally correct. In other words, they make a connection between their own personal values and the beliefs of their companies. When these reinforce one another, people feel a deep satisfaction. But the sense of rightness these employees feel is not restricted to a personal or moral realm. When pushed even further, some also articulate a commercial rationale. They assert that their behaviour is more effective than their competitors. They argue that their way of working is not only more personally satisfying but also superior to that oftheir competitors. A consultant at Egon Zehnder explained the commercial rationale behind the Egon Zehnder philosophy: ‘The philosophy means you’re more dedicated to the client. One has a different attitude from what you might have in another search firm . . . The firm bends over backwards to encourage sharing, giving advice, helping other offices around the world . . . In the long term, the approach produces better quality search work. Another consultant from Egon Zehnder reinforced the link between the commercial rationale and moral rationale, showing how the two can become intertwined. ‘When you first come here, you get exposed to a lot of strong hype and ethics. At first it seems a bit heavy . . . Then you start to believe it, and that worries you, until you realize that you have to ha ve it because of the way we try to present ourselves and our belief in quality, in confidentiality, the process of dealing with the client-that’s all fundamental to ensure that you operate efficiently . . . I was interviewing this morning and I found myself becoming Messianic about the firm because you really believe it. I do believe it because I need it. ’ We were hearing managers talk primarily about the standards and behaviours in their companies and why these are important to them. They gave two reasons. They are committed to the standards because, to them, they are worthwhile and elevating. They are also committed to the standards because they can see the practical good sense behind them; they can set that the standards add up to a superior business strategy. We have attempted to make sense of these responses by developing a definition of mission. Our definition, which we have illustrated in Figure 1, includes four elements-purpose, strategy, behaviour standards and values. A strong mission, we believe, exists when the four elements of mission link tightly together, resonating and reinforcing each other. Purpose At British Airways, staff spoke of the new pride and professionalism among employees as the result of the effort in the 1980s to build a service culture: ‘I feel proud to work for BA’, said one individual. People outside BA recognize the achievement, especially when they travel on the airline. ’ Pride and dedication were also evident in Egon Zehnder, an executive search firm. Consultant after consultant spoke of concepts and values which the company holds dear: the primacy of the client’s interest, teamwork and the ‘one firm’ concept. Mark Wecdon, former managing director of the London offic e, explains: ‘Wc are not a group of separate profit centres. The objective is to maximize the whole. WC shy away from measuring productivity. You’re selling the firm, not the individual or the office. WC arc very different from the average search firm. It’s a sort of subjugation of self. ’ Said another consultant: ‘There are very few arguments here. Because? Because we all depend on each other. We’re not selfish in generating work . . . We recognize each other’s skills and we’ll switch assignments or work as a team. ’ An employee in a large manufacturing company spoke of emotional commitment and sense of purpose. For her, the company’s high standards of behaviour are epitomized by the chairman’s example. She commented: ‘He believes that all people are equal. He’s a bit paternalistic for my way of thinking but he insists on human decency and he is consistent . _ . The company believes in treating people like human beings. There is too little of that in my life-look at the way people push past you in the street . . . ’ To this woman, working for her company is one way of supporting ‘human decency’, a concept she values strongly. In these companies the commitment and enthusiasm among employees seem to come from a sense of personal attachment to the principles on which the company operates. To them mission has more to do with living out behaviour standards than with achieving goals. To the managers we spoke to, their mission appeared to be to follow the standards and behaviours their companies ask of them. From this flow pride and enthusiasm. Employees are not simply conforming to peer pressure or suffering from corporate indoctrination-they are giving their personal endorsement and commitment to these standards and behaviours. To understand why, we tried to push interviewees to articulate their feelings further. We asked questions such as: ‘Why are you attached to these standards? Why is the one firm concept important to you? Why is treating people well so important to you? The answers were the same-in the blunt words of a director of Bulmers, the U. K. brewery and drinks business, ‘because it’s right’. Interviewees were making strong value judgements, arguing that the values and practices of their companies are What is the company for? For whose benefit is all the effort being put in? Why should a manager or an employee do more than t he minimum required? For a company these questions are the equivalent of a person asking ‘why do I exist? ‘. The questions are Creating a Sense of Mission 13 ‘Why the Company Exists’ PURPOSE The Competitive p;i$;c;i;; Competence’ / STRATEGY lUES / ORE; Believes in’ BEHAVlOUR STANDARDS The Policies and Behaviour Patterns that Underpin the Distinctive Competence and the Value System’ Figure 1. The Ashridge mission model It has published the company’s business principles under four headings-the public and the environcustomers, employees and shareholders. ment, Under the heading of the public and the environment it has five paragraphs describing principles such as: ‘We will behave as a responsible corporate member of society and will do our best to cooperate in a responsible manner with the appropriate authorities, local and national’. For customers there are three paragraphs, employees eight paragraphs and shareholders five paragraphs. A less detailed statement of the company’s commitment to its stakeholders is given by Monsanto: ‘Monsanto’s continuing success requires customer enthusiasm for our products, employee dedication and skill, public acceptance of our social behavior, and shareowner confidence and investment. Our goal is to merit their collective support and, in so doing, share with them the rewards that a truly great worldwide company can generate’. In practice it can be argued that the multiplcstakeholder view of purpose is more a matter of pragmatism than arbitrary choice. In a competitive labour market, a company which totally ignored its employees’ needs would soon find its labour costs soaring as it fought to stem the tide of rising employee turnover. But what is important is the psychology of statements of purpose. Lord Hanson is saying that he is expecting his managers to put the allegiance of employees after the interests of shareholders in their list of priorities. Other companies say they have equal priority. For employees this makes them very different companies. Managers in the third type of company are dissatisfied by a purpose solely aimed at satisfying stakeholder needs. They have sought to identify a purpose that is greater than the combined needs of deeply philosophical and can lead boards of directors into heated debate. Indeed, many companies do not even attempt to reach a conclusion about the nature of their overall purpose. However, where there does appear to be an overall idea ofpurpose, companies fall into three categories. First there is the company that claims to exist for the benefit of the shareholders. For these companies the purpose is to maximize wealth for the shareholders. All decisions are assessed against a yardstick of shareholder value. Hanson, a conglomerate focused on Britain and the U. S. A. , is one example. Lord Hanson repeatedly states, ‘The shareholder is king’. Unlike many companies whose chairmen claim to be working primarily for the shareholders, Lord Hanson believes what he says and manages the business to that end. Hence Martin Taylor, a director, feels quite free to say : ‘All of our businesses are for sale all of the time. If anyone is prepared to pay us more than we think they are worth we will sell. We have no attachment to any individual business. ’ Most managers, however, are not as single minded as Lord Hanson. They do not believe that the company’s only purpose is to create wealth for shareholders. They acknowledge the claims of other stakeholders such as customers, employees, suppliers and the community. Faced with the question: ‘Is your company in business to make money for shareholders, make products for customers or provide rewarding jobs for employees? , they will answer yes to all three. The second type of company, therefore, is one that exists to satisfy all its stakeholders. In order to articulate this broader idea of purpose many of these companies have written down their responsibility to each stakeholder group. Ciba-Geigy is an example. 14 Long Range Planning Vol. 24 August 1991 Egon Zehnder provides a good example of a strategy which explains how the firm will achi eve its purpose. Egon Zehnder wants to be the most professional, although not necessarily the biggest, international executive search firm. Its competitive advantage comes, it believes, from the methods and systems it uses to carry out search assignments and from the ‘one-firm’, co-operative culture it has so carefully nurtured. Marks and Spencer’s strategy in textiles is a second example. In its clothes retailing business, Marks and Spencer seeks to offer the best value for money in the high street by providing a broad range of classic quality clothes. The company’s competitive advantage comes from its dedication to quality through managing suppliers, its high levels of service, and the low overheads generated by high sales per square foot. Behaviour Standards the stakeholders, something to which all the stakeholders can feel proud of contributing. In short, they aim towards a higher ideal. The planning director in one company, operating in a depressed region of Britain, explained: ‘I don’t get excited about making money for shareholders. I like to help businesses succeed. That’s something I can get excited about. I believe our future depends on it-1 don’t just mean this company, it’s about the future of the nation, even the international community -it’s about world peace and that sort of thing. At Marks and Spencer one manager described the company’s purpose as ‘raising standards for the working man’. This rings true for many others in the company who felt, particularly in the early days of Marks and Spencer and after the war, that they were improving the standard of clothing available to the average person because they were able to retail high quality goods at affordable prices. At The Body Shop, a retailer ofcosmetics, managers talk about ‘products that don’t hurt animals or the environment’. At Egon Zehnder the purpose is to be the worldwide leader in executive search. Whether these companies have an almost moral crusade, like Marks and Spencer or The Body Shop, or whether they just aspire to be the best, like Egon Zehnder, they have all reached beyond the stakeholder definition of purpose. Each stakeholder, whether shareholder, employee or supplier, can feel that doing business with the company supports some higher level goal. We believe that leaders will find it easier to create employees with commitment and enthusiasm if they choose a purpose aimed at a higher ideal. We have met individuals committed to shareholders or to the broader definition of stakeholders, but we believe that it is harder for this commitment to grow. Purposes expressed in terms of stakeholders tend to emphasize their different selfish interests. Purposes aimed at higher ideals seek to deny these selfish interests or at least dampen their legitimacy. This makes it easier to bind the organization together. Strategy Purpose and strategy are empty intellectual thoughts unless they can be converted into action, into the policy and behaviour guidelines that help people to decide what to do on a day-to-day basis. British Airways provides a good example of how the company’s purpose and strategy have been successfully converted into tangible standards and actions. It promotes itself as the ‘world’s favourite airline’ and declares as its aim ‘To be the best and most successful company in the airline industry’. The strategy to achieve this is based on providing good value for money, service that overall is superior to its competitors and friendly, professional managers who are in tune with its staff. These strategic objectives are translated into policies and behaviour guidelines such as the need for in-flight services to be at least as good as those of competing airlines on the same route, and the requirement that managers and employees should be helpful and friendly at all times. By translating purpose and strategy into actionable policies and standards senior managers at British Airways have dramatically changed the performance of the airline. Central to this effort was the training and behaviour change connected with the slogan ‘Putting People First’. The Body Shop, an international retailer of cosmetics, has a purpose of developing cosmetics that do not harm animals or the environment. Its strategy is to be more environmentally conscious than its competitors, hence attracting the ‘green’ consumer and the ‘green’ employee. Within the company, environmental consciousness has been translated into policies and behaviour standards, one of which was almost unique when first introduced. All employees have two waste paper baskets: one for recyclable products and one for ordinary garbage. Employees receive training in what can be recycled and what cannot. In the last year or two a To achieve a purpose in competition with other organizations, there needs to be a strategy. Strategy provides the commercial logic for the company. If the purpose is to be the best, there must be a strategy explaining the principles around which the company will become the best. If the purpose is to create wealth, there must be a strategy explaining how the company will create wealth in competition with other companies. Strategy will define the business that the company is going to compete in, the position that the company plans to hold in that business and the distinctive competence or ompetitive advantage that the company has or plans to create. Creating a Sense of Mission 15 PURPOSE Rational and Commercial / Left Brain Logic /Right Emotional and Moral Brain Logic BEHAWOUR STANDARDS Figure number policies. 2. Two reasons for action have introduced similar Human beings are emotional, however, and are often driven more by right-brain motives than leftbrain logic. To capture the emotional energy of an organization the mission needs to provide some philosophical or moral rationale for behaviour to run alongside the commercial rationale. This brings us to the next element of our definition of mission. of other companies Egon Zehnder provides another example of the link between strategy and policies. Egon Zehnder’s strategy is to be more professional than other executive search consultants. Connected with this it has a set of policies about how consultants should carry out assignments, called the ‘systematic conOne of the policies is that sulting approach’. consultants should not take on a search assignment unless they believe it will benefit the client. Another policy is that there should be a back-up consultant for every assignment in order to ensure a quality service to the client. Supporting this systematic approach are behaviour standards about co-operation. These are ingrained into the culture rather than written on tablets of stone. An Egon Zehnder consultant willingly helps another consultant within his or her office or from other offices around the world. Philip Vivian, a consultant, explained this behaviour standard: ‘Collaboration and co-operation are very important and it is unusual in this industry. It is essential that we recognize each other’s skills and switch assignments or work as a team. It is also critical for international work. We have one Japanese assignment that is being coordinated from Tokyo, Milan, Paris, London and Frankfurt. So we have to work as a team. It does not always work out perfectly because of the inevitable problems of communication. But the â€Å"one firm† concept helps. We all know we are working for the same firm-no office is going to lose out if it helps another’. The logic for the co-operation as described by Vivian is a commercial logic. The firm wants to be the best. This means being better at co-operation than its competitors. As a result it needs a behaviour standard that makes sure consultants help each other. This commercial logic is the left-brain logic of the firm. Values Values are the beliefs and moral principles that lie behind the company’s culture. Values give meaning to the norms and behaviour standards in the company and act as the ‘right brain’ of the organization. In Figure 2, we show how strategy and values constitute the left and right brain of companies with a mission. In many organizations corporate values are not explicit and can only be understood by perceiving the philosophical rationale that lies behind management behaviour. For example, consultants in Egon Zehnder believe in co-operative behaviour because they are committed to the firm’s strategy. But they also believe in co-operative behaviour because they feel that it is ‘right’. Egon Zehnder people are naturally co-operative. They have been selected for that quality. They believe that people ought to be co-operative. ‘It makes a nicer place to work and it suits my style’, explained one consultant. And it’s a better way to work’, he added with the faintest implication of a moral judgement. Egon Zehnder people can also be moral about certain aspects of the systematic approach. The policy of not taking on an assignment unless the consultant believes it is good for the client highlights a moral as much as a commercial rationale. Other executive se arch companies will take on any assignment, they argue. But Egon Zehnder puts the interests of the client first and will advise the client against an assignment even if it means lost revenues. It is a professional code of behaviour. As professionals they feel a moral duty to advise the client 16 Long Range Planning Vol. 24 August 1991 arena. The emotional, moral and ethical rationale or right-brain reasoning is about values and what sort ofbehaviour is ethical: the right way to treat people, the right way to behave in our society. Our definition of mission includes both these rationales linked together by a common purpose. to do what is best for the client rather than what is best for Egon Zehnder. There is a commercial rationale for this behaviour, but the moral rationale is stronger. The same is true in British Airways. There is a good commercial reason for ‘Putting People First’, but there is also a moral reason : we are all people and life would be better for all of us if we took a little more care with each other. This moral rationale was put high on the agenda when 35,000 British Airways staff went on the Putting People First training programmes. The new behaviours described by the trainers were presented as a philosophy of life as much as a way of improving British Airways. Participants were asked to consider how they greeted their families when arriving home as well as how they handled customers. A third example of the way in which values can provide an additional logic for behaviour comes from Hewlett-Packard. The HP Way describes a behaviour standard made famous by Tom Peters in In Search of Excellence: managing by wandering around (MBWA). Hewlett-Packard’s strategy has been to succeed in high value niches of the electronics industry by being better at innovation and product development. To implement this strategy HP needs to attract and retain the best engineers and product managers. These high quality individuals do not like to be closely controlled or hierarchically managed. HP, therefore, developed the MBWA policy as a management approach suitable for these kinds of high achievers. The MBWA behaviour standard is based on good commercial logic. But MBWA has also become a crusade of its own. Managers believe it is the right way to manage not only high achievers but all personnel. MBWA is not good behaviour only because it is good strategy but also because it is something everyone should be doing. It acknowledges the innate creativity of individuals and underlines the manager’s respect for people. It has been imbued with values. The objective observer can easily identify situations, such as captaining a ship, where MBWA would be totally the wrong style of management. Yet for managers committed to the HP Way it is almost sacrosanct. Like the systematic approach at Egon Zehnder, or putting people first at British Airways, MBWA in Hewlett-Packard is not only good strategy but ‘the right way to behave’. These three examples show how values can provide a rationale for behaviour that is just as strong as strategy. It is for this reason that the framework in Figure 1 has a diamond shape. There are two rationales that link purpose with behaviour. The commercial rationale or left-brain reasoning is about strategy and what sort of behaviour will help the company outperform competitors in its chosen Creating a Strong Mission A strong mission exists when the four elements of mission reinforce each other. This is most easily perceived by looking at the links between the strategy and the value system and whether both can be acted out through the same behaviour standards. Are the important behaviour standards central to both the strategy and the value system? In Egon Zehnder, British Airways and HewlettPackard they are. We looked at only one or two behaviour standards for each company, but we would find much the same reinforcement of both strategy and values if we examined other behaviour standards. Hewlett-Packard’s commercial strategy depends on attracting and keeping high quality committed employees. This means it has to demonstrate a set of values which desirable employees will find attractive. So, for example, it has an ‘open door’ policy that encourages dissatisfied employees to approach senior managers; a policy of high integrity and open, communications with stakeholders; a belief in informality and in decentralization; a policy of promoting from within; and a commitment to teamwork. Each of these policies and behaviour standards has a rationale both in the company’s strategy and in its value system. They work cumulatively to create a strong mission. Marks and Spencer is another company where the most important behaviour standards are essential pillars of both the strategy and the value system. One of the platforms of Marks and Spencer’s philosophy is good human relations. As one manager explained : ‘Marcus Sieff gave many presentations both in the company and outside. But he only ever gave one speech, about good human relations’. Part of Marks and Spencer’s strategy is to have employees who take more care, particularly in relation to customer service. By caring for employees, Sieff would argue, the company will create employees who will care for the company and its customers. As a result Marks and Spencer is famous for its services and support for employees, from the quality of the toilets to things like dental care. The policy of good human relations is a standard of management behaviour referred to by Almost one manager as ‘visible management’. identical to Hewlett-Packard’s standard of MBWA, visible management requires that managers, even at the highest level, spend time visiting stores and talking to staff and customers. As one board member explained: ‘In a normal week, the 12 board Creating members will probably between them visit about 25 stores. These are not red letter days. We will just go in and talk with some of the management, supervisors and staff. It’s about getting out and listening to he organization’. like Egon Zehnder, Marks and In companies Spencer and Hewlett-Packard, the management philosophy and value system dovetail with the strategy so that the company’s policies and behaviour standards reinforce both the strategy and the philosophy. The whole has integrity. These companies have strong missions. Strong missions come, therefore , from a clear fit between the four elements in the framework. a Sense of Mission 17 individual and the organization. The greater the link between company policies and individual values, the greater the scope for the individual’s sense of mission. We see the values match (illustrated in Figure 3) as the most important part of a sense of mission because it is through values that individuals feel emotional about their organizations. Commitment to a company’s strategy does not, on its own, constitute a sense of mission. It is not unusual for groups of managers to discuss their company’s purpose and strategy and reach an intellectual agreement. However this intellectual agreement does not necessarily translate into an emotional commitment and hence the strategic plan does not get implemented. The emotional commitment comes when the individual personally identifies with the values and behaviours lying behind the plan, turning the strategy into a mission and the intellectual agreement into a sense of mission. The source of the emotional commitment created by a values match is subtle. People are searching for meaning and for an opportunity to transcend the ordinariness of day-to-day existence. Values give meaning. Living up to one’s values or joining a group of people successfully following these values helps an individual feel a sense of transcendence. In these circumstances, work becomes more fulfilling because it is filled with greater purpose. Work helps the individual achieve something that is personally important and which, therefore, gives him or her intrinsic satisfaction. Consider a fastidious individual who has a personal bias towards tidiness and perfection and who works as a proof reader. If the organization believes fervently in accuracy and error free work, the individual will, in all likelihood, find satisfaction in fastidiously rooting out the minutest blemish or error. He or she will also feel valued. If the A Sense of Mission: The Emotional Bond A sense of mission is an emotional commitment felt by people towards the company’s mission. But even in companies with very strong missions there are many people who do not feel an emotional commitment. We were told, for example, that even at the height of Hewlett-Packard’s success an employee survey revealed a large minority of employees who did not have a strong belief in the capabilities of the senior management team, implying that they lacked a sense of mission. A sense of mission occurs, we believe, when there is a match between the values of an organization and those of an individual. Because organization values are rarely explicit, the individual senses them through the company’s behaviour standards. For example, if the behaviour standard is about cooperative working, the individual will be able to sense that helpfulness is valued above individual competition. If the individual has a personal value about the importance of being helpful and cooperative, then there is a values match between the I / STRATEGY PURPOSE VALUES e Employees’ Personal Values / BEHAVlhJR STANDARDS Figure 3. Meaning comes mainly from values 18 Long Range Planning Vol. 24 August 1991 more self-interested and their attitudes are likely to be more cynical. These individuals may give good service to the company but there are benefits to a company that only come through having individuals with a sense of mission. We have defined the terms mission and sense of mission at some length and been at pains to draw a distinction between these two concepts because we believe managers are frequently confused by them. Mission is an intellectual concept that can be analysed and discussed unemotionally. Like strategy, mission is a set of propositions that can be used to guide the policies and behaviours of a company. However, mission is a larger concept than strategy. It covers strategy and culture. The strategy element of mission legislates what is important to the commercial future of the company. The values element of mission legislates what is important to the culture of the company. When the two are in tune, reinforcing each other and bound by a common purpose, the mission is strong. When there are contradictions and inconsistencies, the mission is weak. Sense of mission is not an intellectual concept: it is an emotional and deeply personal feeling. The individual with a sense of mission has an emotional attachment and commitment to the company, what it stands for and what it is trying to do. A company with a clear mission does not necessarily have employees with a sense of mission. Some individuals may have a sense of mission with varying degrees of intensity. Many will not. Over time the number of employees with a sense of mission will increase as the policies of the mission become implemented and embedded in the company culture. But even a company like HewlettPackard, that has had a clear mission for 30 or more years, will not have more than 50 per cent of employees with what we would recognize as a sense of mission. organization applies these principles to other areas of the business, the person may begin to feel a warmth for the organization that gives further personal satisfaction. The employee will see the organization as a ‘good’ company. If, on the other hand, the organization is driven by deadlines and allows too little time for proof reading, causing books to be published with errors, the proof reader will feel frustrated, unappreciated and angry. Working with a ‘good’ organization does not guarantee that cmployces will have a sense of mission. Consider the person who is responsible for cleaning the car park of the Boy Scouts headquarters. The organization has an elevating purpose. It has a clear strategy. It has strong values and well grooved policies and behaviour standards. It is also with more than 17 million highly successful, members worldwide. In other words the Boy Scout movement has a strong mission. Yet the car park cleaner may or may not feel a sense of mission. It will depend on his or her personal values and the values and bchaviour standards by which he or she is managed. Each individual is making a judgement: ‘Does this organization care about the sort of things I care about? ‘. If it does, then there is the potential for developing an emotional commitment. If not, then support from the individual is grudging, based on a contract of so much work for so much pay. It is important to recognize the individual nature of a sense of mission. It is a personal, emotional feeling created by the individual relationship that the person has with the organization. If the car park cleaner is gregarious and bclicvcs more in making people happy than in dirt-free cleanliness, he is more likely to feel a sense of mission about the Boy Scouts if the office workers stop to have a joke with him in the car park and involve him in the office events. If his boss is a tidiness fanatic, he is going to feel uncomfortable and will bc unlikely to develop an energetic commitment to the organization. Recognizing the personal nature of a sense of mission is important because it has two implications. First, no organization can hope to have 100 per cent of its employees with a sense of mission, unless it is very small. People arc too varied and have too many individual values for it to be possible for a large organization to achieve a values match for all its employees. Second, careful rccruitmcnt is essential. People’s values do not change when they change companies. By recruiting people with compatible values, companies are much more likely to foster a sense of mission. We have pointed out that even in companies with a strong mission, many people lack a sense of mission. This may be because they have few strong values and, therefore, feel very little for the company. It may also be because their values conflict with those of the company. These individuals may not be poor performers or disruptive but their motivation is Implications of the Mission Model Mission thinking has implications at all levels in business as well as for those connected to business. Our greatest hope is that our research will stimulate management teams to give the subject some executive time. We are confident that our mission model is a powerful analytical tool and we want managers to use it. It may be appropriate, therefore, to summarize why we think the model is so powerful. First, the model states that organization values need to be compatible with employee values. This compatibility or lack of it can be analysed and measured, bringing objectivity to the discussion of Creating a Sense of Mission culture and human resource issues. Will the members of the executive team have a values conflict with the proposed mission? Will the marketing department have a values conflict? While we recognize that the analysis of cultures and values has, in the past, proved difficult and of limited managerial benefit, we believe that values differences of the kind exposed by mission thinking can be analysed and have important management implications. Techniques for interviewing, group discussions and questionnaires will quickly expose these value differences and confront managers with the need to change the values in the mission, change the people or win the people to the new values. Moreover, since values must be embedded in behaviour standards, values conflicts become exposed when managers or employees react to behaviour instructions. It may be hard to analyse whether the managers of the chemical laboratory believe in ‘supportive management’. It is much easier to decide whether these managers are likely to implement a standard of managing by wandering around. The model’s strength, therefore, is that it defines the relationship managers need to create between organization values and employee values. Second, the model demands that strategy and values resonate and reinforce each other. It is possible to identify many values that are compatible with a particular strategy, but it is hard to analyse whether these are the right values, whether they resonate with strategy sufficiently strongly. The mission model’s emphasis on behaviour standards helps to bridge this analytical gap. By insisting that strategy and values are converted into a few behaviour standards acting as beacons of the mission, the degree of resonance between strategy and values is exposed. If it is possible to condense the mission into a few symbolically important behaviour standards, such as ‘putting people first’ or ‘management by wandering around’ then we can be confident that the strategy and the values resonate strongly. If not, if no powerful behaviour standards can be identified, then the fault almost certainly lies in a lack of resonance between strategy and values. Further mission planning, further experimentation and further insight are needed. We can illustrate this with an example drawn from our own organization, Ashridge, whose largest activity is a management college outside London. Table 1. The research approach A research team from the Ashridge Strategic Management Centre approached 42 companies that expressed an interest in the project. These companies are listed below. initially we asked them how they had developed and used their mission statements. However, we soon discovered that a number of the companies in our sample had a strong sense of purpose, or a strong culture, or both. We therefore identified from the original group of companies four businesses that seemed to have a strong sense of purpose supported by a strong sense of culture. These companies were Bulmers, manufacturers of cider and soft drinks; Egon Zehnder, the Swiss-based international executive search consultancy; Marks and Spencer, the international retailing business; and Royal U. S. , the American arm of a British insurance company. Finally, we examined four cases where senior managers had set about developing a new mission and philosophy. One of these cases, Shell (U. K. ) Refining, has been well documented by a variety of different researchers and we relied on their evidence. We also relied on published data for Borg-Warner, a diverse multinational corporation, since the company’s efforts to create a mission have been developed into a Harvard Business School case. The Burton Breweries story has been described in a book, By GABB andby GIBB. published and edited by former managing director David Cox, and we tested its evidence through a number of interviews. In the other company, British Airways, we interviewed many managers and employees at different locations. Detailed Interviews Carried Out Full Case Studies Bulmers Egon Zehnder Marks Spencer Royal U. S. Personal Experiences Discussed Borg-Warner British Airways Ind Coope Burton Brewery Shell U. K. Refining Akzo Ashridge Management College BBA BOC The Body Shop British Petroleum BUPA Burmah Castro1 Burson Marsteller Courtaulds First Chicago Bank Ford Gencor Grand Metropolitan Hanson ICI LIG Lloyds Bank Richard Lochridge Associates Mars McKinsey Co. Metropolitan Police Northern Ireland Electricity Portsmouth Sunderland Newspapers Price Waterhouse Prudential Rank Xerox Royal U. K. Shell International W. H. Smith Tarmac TI Group Trusthouse Forte Valmet Wellcome 20 Long Range Planning Vol. 24 August 1991 have a mission, the need to create a relationship between strategy and values and the need to articulate behaviour standards, managers can avoid a superficial attitude to mission and continue the analysis, thinking and experimentation for long enough to develop the mission that will build a great company. Ashridge has identified four important planks of its future strategy: two of these are ‘self-directed learning’ and ‘internationalization’. With the ambition of becoming Europe’s best management school, Ashridge recognizes the need to become more international and to eliminate elements of its culture and product offering that have historically been focused on the British and Commonwealth market. It also feels that the best way of achieving European pre-eminence is to become more learnercentred: to focus on the needs of managers. Since different managers have different needs a learnercentred focus demands that Ashridge should develop ways of helping managers learn what they want to learn rather than what the lecturer wants to teach them. Both of these thrusts are proving difficult to implement; not because the strategy is unclear or because there is widespread disagreement about the values, but because the policies and behaviour standards that need to underpin the new mission are hard to identify. What behaviour is required of a lecturer or a programme administrator or a member of the hotel staff to ensure that they are contributing to the themes of internationalization or participantcentrcd learning? We do not yet know. It will take more months, possibly even more years, to identify the appropriate behaviours and get to the point where the behaviour standards can be articulated. We have not yet found a resonance between the desired strategy and the organization’s current values. Managing mission is, therefore, a continuous, ongoing process. Few companies will be able to articulate the behaviour standards that drive their mission without working at the problem over a number of years. By being clear about the need to Acknowledgement-This article is drawn from A Sense‘ of Mission, Andrew Campbell, Marion Devine and David Young, Economist Publications/Hutchinson (1990). References (1) Peter Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Harper Row, New York (1973). (2) The main academic work on the contents of mission statements has been done by Fred David and Jack Pearce (J. A. Pearce II and F. R. David, Corporate mission statements: the bottom line, Academy of Management Executive, 1 (1987) ; D. Cochran and F. Ft. David, The communication effectiveness of organizational mission statements, JournalofApplied Communication Research (1987); Fred R. David, How companies define their mission, Long Range Planning, 22 (1 ), (1989). 3) T. Levitt, Marketing pp. 45-56, July/August myopia, (1960). Harvard Business Review, (4) Thomas J. Watson Jr, A Business and Its Beliefs, New York (1963). McGraw-Hill, Further Reading Andrew Campbell and Kiran Tawadey, Mission and Business Philosophy: Winning Employee Commitment, Heinemann, Oxford (1990). Andrew Campbell and Sally Yeung, Do You Need a Mission Statement? Special Report No. 1208, The Economist Publications Management Guides, London (1990).