Gerard,
You've asked an important and insightful question. What is the learning
gap between a vision and its implementation. I have a couple thoughts
which I'll share.
First, Whose vision is it? The CEO's, senior management, or the whole
company's? Vision is important, but it is a wasted effort if it is not a
shared vision, shared by more than a few people at a certain level or in a
specific location. Creating a shared vision is like creating a new
culture for the company. It is hard, time consuming and not a simple
process, but an important one.
Second, How clear is that vision? Is the vision understandable to each
employee and customer? Does the person who is geograhically, culturally
and intellectually most removed from the CEO's office understand the
direction of the company in the future? Do the customers and the
competition understand the direction of the company? Clarity of vision is
so important because it happens through interaction between people. It is
clarified and sharpened through engagement in the ideas about future
direction, which then results in specific steps toward implementation.
Third, Is there real continuity between the vision and the implementation
program? If the vision is about changing the direction of the company,
let's say, are there hidden characterisitics in the implementation plan
which keep the new direction from materializing. If change is a
necessity, how has the implementation strategy changed to reflect this new
direction. If the vision validates future direction, does the
implementation process validate past methods which have not been
critically challenged?
If you've read Mintzberg, then you should read Gary Hamel and C.K.
Prahalad's Competing for the Future (Harvard Business School Pres, 1994,
ISBN 0875847161) which addresses many of these issues, though not from a
specfically learning organization point of view. I think it will
stimulated your thinking.
Let us know what you learn.
Ed Brenegar
Leadership Resources
brenegar@bulldog.unca.edu
--Edwin Brenegar III <brenegar@bulldog.unca.edu>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>