Aligning Virtue, Vision and Strategy

In 1994 Jim Collins and Jerry Porras’ research was published in what became the exemplary book Built to Last. At the time I was at FranklinCovey, working with direct selling companies, primarily teaching time management and personal values clarification to corporate executives and sales leaders.

The Time Management curriculum centers on the principles of personal alignment. In using the term personal alignment I mean the training teaches people how to identify their personal core values and ideals, which values, when identified and defined, then drives purpose, personal goals and eventually (and hopefully) daily behavior. The philosophy enforces the concepts that people tend to be happier, healthier, and more productive when they are consciously working on the things (ideals and values) which matter most to them. The idea of understanding one’s personal vision, values and core purpose is absolutely necessary in order to achieve peace of mind, which at the end of the day, is what we all desire.

The goal (and challenge) for most people is aligning one’s personal behavior with his or her core values. As Ben Franklin shares in his autobiography, reaching this alignment it is a lifelong process.

A few years after the release of their book, I had the unique opportunity to spend a day with Jim Collins at his research center in Boulder, Colorado to explore a relationship between our companies.

Jim Collins, a delightfully brilliant man is the ultimate Curious George. While teaching at Stanford, he became increasingly interested in what makes enduring, great organizations. Eventually he and fellow professor, Jerry Porras began gathering and quantifying the data of publicly-traded companies where accurate information was readily available. Over time, patterns emerged, and principles of organizational longevity manifested themselves. Thankfully, this research was captured and shared with the world in the Book Built to Last.

While we were meeting, Collins shared the interesting story of how he was challenged by his students at Stanford. He taught a course on business entrepreneurship, which they said, was somewhat hypocritical, as he had never been an entrepreneur. How could he teach such a subject without having had any entrepreneurial experience? He eventually caved in to the pressure, and did a flip flop, changing from being a professor of entrepreneurship, to being an entrepreneurial professor. He moved back to his hometown in Boulder, and opened his research center in an unassuming building in a semi-residential neighborhood. In the room where we met, there was a single framed 5 x 8 inch document hanging on the wall. Jim explained that it was his first grade report card. He also revealed that he attended first grade in that very room where we were meeting! (What goes around comes around!) What a cool thing.

In a nutshell Built to Last studies some of the most successful and enduring companies in America’s history. The research for this book produced surprising results for the authors (and the reader). The book suggests there are a number of underlying principles upon which each of these companies built their business. Among them are the necessity for core values, a compelling vision, and very long range goals (named BHAGS, pronounced “bee-hags” for Big. Hairy, Audacious Goals). The values, vision and BHAGS were the rock solid foundation upon which the companies were built.

What was confirmed during our meeting was the BTL research supports the philosophy and principles presented in the time management training; only their research has an organizational twist, whereas the Franklin model centers on personal alignment. (We later met with Jerry Porras at his office at Stanford. He stressed that their work, while it centers on business effectiveness, identifies principles that can help any organization regardless of its objectives, i.e. families, churches, governments, downlines.)

In other words, core purpose, values and vision become the basis for decision making, whether it’s building one’s life, or one’s company, or one’s downline. To use a biblical metaphor, the Vision and Values represent the house that is built upon the foundation of a rock, as opposed to the house that is built upon sand. (See Matthew 7:24-27.) When the rain descends and the floods come, it’s the vision and values of the company (or person) that ultimately drives the decisions that either makes or breaks the business (or the individual). Values and vision keep us on track, and help us (and others) to know who we are, and
what we stand for. It’s much easier to make decisions when we have defined who and what we are, and by default, who and what we are not.

In my training, I have had many people tell me that they already know their values, and it is a waste of time to go through a values discovery process. Well, maybe they do have a sense of what is important to them, but I submit there are few things more powerful than going through the discovery process of writing and defining and clarifying what matters most in your life – or what matters most in the organization. It is not only electrifying, but it is empowering. Scott Peck says it is only when we name and define something, that we have truly power over it.

My experience in working with a myriad of companies in the network marketing industry leads me to believe that many (perhaps most) never take the time to identify their core organizational purpose, values and vision, and only give lipservice to a mission statement (written, in part, because such documents were for a time, in vogue.) Without the clarity of such critical thinking, it’s too easy to become a jack of all trades, and a master of none. It’s highly tempting to pursue whatever is hot at the moment (whether it be commissions for training, the latest hot nutritional product – even if the company isn’t a nutritional company, or expanding internationally, even if the company is still in its infancy in the USA.) Such undisciplined behavior confuses the field, and stalls the business.

Equally wrong is the idea of making a list of core values, or a flowery-sounding mission statement that has been ill-conceived, or whose words have been chosen simply because they sound nice and noble, but do nothing in the way of driving behavior or influencing decisions. The company that publishes a statement declaring its values and purpose, and then fails to honor the written word is casting a die that’s hard to remove. The words come from the mouth, rather than from the heart. It would be better to say nothing, than to espouse one thing and do another. Trust is an overriding principle of business longevity, and
must earned. We trust people (and organizations) not because of what they say, rather, but from what they do. In the long-run, people choose to do business with people they trust. Network marketing is the ultimate relationship business. No other industry is so affected by the quality of relationships as is direct selling. Companies survive over the long haul because their customers, vendors and distributors have come to trust the company’s values and purpose, and the products and the people with whom they work.

On the other hand, a document stating an organization’s vision, values and purpose published for the entire world to see is inspiring, compelling and deeply meaningful. Consider the Declaration of Independence, which stands out as one of the world’s finest examples of vision, values and purpose.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…

At Franklin, our purpose was clear and motivating, “We are in the business of helping people gain control over their lives!” That statement drove a small training company located in the founder’s garage into one of the preeminent training and leadership companies in the world.

It is my recommendation that executives within the direct selling business spend time clearly defining what it is they value personally, and then use the same process to determine the core purpose, values and vision of their respective companies. All truly great individuals and institutions have done so. Direct Selling is an industry that can make a significant difference in the world – providing the people and companies within have built their houses upon the rock of correct principles, values, vision and purpose.

To download the article click on the link below:
» Aligning Virtue, Vision and Strategy