tempo! – from character to vision

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    InVision, Mission, Principles And the HumanBrain I discussed the basics of creating visionand mission statements. This time I will showhow I developed my own vision statement.

    When I went into business as a managementconsultant, I was careful to develop a visionstatement for myself. This was some time ago,and I have changed. Therefore it was appropri-ate to take the time to reevaluate myself, my

    principles, vision and mission.

    Developing effective visionand mission statements mustbegin with expressing basiccharacter. I had to think hard about what kind ofperson I am, and then answer the question:What kind of a person do I want to be?

    Anyone can put together a list of

    nice principles and values. Unfor-

    tunately, by itself, such a list is

    worthless.

    To begin with, for reasons discussed in Vision,Mission, Principles And the Human Brain, I wanta core based on principles. What principles?

    The principles I chose to define the me I want tobecome are:

    Integrity

    Curiosity

    The BusinessStrategy NewsletterIssue 2-2009

    The Tempo! newsletter contains supportingmaterial for Tempo!, a business strategybook written by Henrik Mrtensson

    The Tempo! newsletter is published byHM MediaTech.

    Email: [email protected]: +46 708 56 23 65Twitter:@KallokainSkype: rubyist 2009 by Henrik Mrtensson

    Tempo!FromCharacter

    to Vision

    A PracticalGuide

    By Henrik Mrtensson

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brain
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    Theory Y

    Enthusiasm

    Initiative

    Courage

    Wisdom

    Tenaciousness

    Anyone can put together a list of nice principlesand values. Unfortunately, by itself, such a list isworthless. It has great value as a starting point,but it is necessary to go further and define thebehaviors you want. If you do not do that, you

    have made a token effort, and will get token re-sults.

    In the end, it is all about behavior. If my principlesdo not guide my behavior, they arent really myprinciples at all. Therefore, I had to think aboutthe behaviors that follow from my guiding prin-ciples.

    If my principles do not guide my

    behavior, they arent really my

    principles at all.

    Here is something important to understand be-fore developing your own statement about prin-ciples: Words are notprinciples! The same wordmay have different meanings to different people.A word that is full of positive meaning to you,may be meaningless, or even have negative con-notations, for someone else. For example, Icringe when I hear managers talking about in-creasing cost effectiveness as if it is always theright thing to do. If you have read Tempo!, youunderstand why1.

    Consequently, I have made sure to write downthe desired behaviors and priorities behind theprinciples.

    2

    1 Total cost is Costcapacity+Costdelay. Increasing cost effectiveness is the same thing as decreasing Costcapacity.

    Unfortunately, reducing Costcapacity will eventually increase Costdelay. Costdelay increases exponentially whenCostcapacity is reduced linearly. Thus, pushing cost effectiveness too high can increase Costdelay more thanCostcapacity is reduced. When this happens, total cost goes up. The proof is in Tempo!.

    MyCharacter

    Integrity Curiosity Theory Y Enthusiasm Initiative Courage Wisdom Tenaciousness

    MyCharacter

    Integrity

    Theory Y

    Enthusiasm

    Initiative

    Courage

    Curiosity

    Wisdom

    Tenaciousness

    The first step in developing vision and mission statements is to decide which fundamental princi-ples you want to drive your character. In the diagram I have described the character I want to strivefor.

    Seeing your principles as a supporting hierar-chy can be a great help when figuring out thebehaviors each principle promotes.

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    I also find it useful to think of my principles ashierarchically structured. For example, I view

    courage and curiosity as prerequisites for ini-tiative. Without courage, I will not dare takeinitiative, and without curiosity, there will beno reason to do it.

    Words are not principles! The

    same word may have different

    meanings to different people.

    Integrity

    The first principle I chose was a given: Integrity,a solid core of principles and honesty.

    Having integrity does not make you a nice per-son. It merely means you will act according toyour principles, whatever they are, and thatyou will be free of deceit and untruthfulness.

    Integrity can be a very uncomfortable principleto live by. It means following my principles, all

    of them, are more important than pleasing otherpeople, being comfortable, and even more im-

    portant than being safe.

    Can I live up to it when the pressure is on? Timewill tell. At least I know the standard by which Imeasure myself.

    CuriosityCuriosity, the second principle was also easy. I amcurious by nature. I like to learn new things, I liketo dig deep, and I like to connect new things Ilearn with the things I already know. I take pride

    in my ability to do paradigm changing, double-loop learning. (Modestyis not a core principleyet. Maybe next time around.)

    Fortunately for me, I get curiosity for free. It isthe way I have been wired since I was a smallchild. For some reason, I have continued to becurious through my adult life. If anything, myneed to know more, and to figure things out, hasincreased over the years.

    3

    Curiosity

    I will crossparadigm

    boundaries

    I will actively

    pursue knewknowledge

    I will activelypursue newexperiences

    I willtranscendparadigms

    I will continuoslyintegrate

    knowledge andexperience

    Integrity

    My principles willalways guide my

    behavior

    Following myprinciples meansmore to me thanpleasing other

    people

    Following myprinciples meansmore to me than

    being comfortable

    Following myprinciples meansmore to me than

    being safe

    I will behonest with

    myself

    I will behonest with

    others

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    Theory YOur basic beliefs about other people will colorhow we interpret events. How we interpret

    events will affect how people react to us, andthus color our basic beliefs about people.

    InVision, Mission, Principles And the HumanBrain I wrote about Theory X and Theory Y,two basic, and very different, views of people.

    Theory X says that people are basically lazy,lack initiative and will shirk their responsibili-ties whenever they get a chance. Therefore,

    managers must tell them how to do things, andmonitor the results very closely.

    Theory Y says people are intelligent, will take onresponsibility, and can find joy in their workun-der the right conditions. Managers have the re-sponsibility for creating and maintaining thoseconditions.

    I have worked for both Theory X and Theory Ymanagers. There is no doubt in my mind thatTheory Y is a superior mindset in every way.Therefore I want to base my interactions with

    4

    Initiative: Turning Loss IntoOpportunity

    Upon leaving the caf where I had drawn thediagrams shown in this article, I saw a greatexample of the principle ofinitiative.

    Its Madonna fever in Gothenburg. The youngwoman in the picture to the right had boughta ticket to a Madonna concert, but for somereason could not go.

    She could have chalked up a loss. Or, shecould have tried to sell her ticket outside Ul-levi, where the concert was to be held. Thatwould have taken valuable time though, so shechose a simpler solution. The sign reads:

    Madonna ticket on sale.Seat for tonight.

    I dont know if she sold the ticket, but I hopeshe did.

    Theory Y

    I will endeavor tobase relationshipson mutual respect

    I will respect

    other people

    I will endeavor tobase relationships

    on mutual trust

    I will trust

    other people

    I will be openabout my own

    motives for doingthings

    I will assume otherpeople do the best

    they can, giventheir circumstances

    I will be loyal to thepeople I am

    responsible for

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    other people on Theory Y. Theory X has noplace in my reality.

    This takes conscious effort to achieve. Fortu-nately for me, I have many years of personalexperience, and the results of scientific studiesand behavioral science to back up my belief inTheory Y.

    EnthusiasmI hate being bored, really, really hate it, so Ihave resolved not to be bored.

    Enthusiasm is a state of mind. It is partially en-

    gendered by external factors, but we do have alot of control over it ourselves.

    I have resolved to live my own life with gusto.That means doing things I find interesting andchallenging.

    I have also resolved to be happy and enthusias-tic over the success of others, particularly if Ihave helped them achieve it. As you mightguess, this has had a strong influence on my

    choice of profession.

    InitiativeI have a strong belief that we can take chargeof our own situation and turn almost anysituation around to the better ifwe dare totake initiative.

    For me, taking initiative means to actively cre-ate opportunities, to look for opportunities,and to use opportunities whenever they pre-

    sent themselves.

    This is difficult. It is easy to falter, because of lackof courage, because of distractions, and becauseof lack of enthusiasm. However, it is possible toconsciously school oneself to take more initia-tive.

    To do this, I have to face my fears and con-sciously dispose of them. Though initially difficult,it gets easier with training.

    CourageFortunately for me, having courage does notmean to be fearless. Rather, it means I must facethe fears I do have. The key to doing this is toclearly articulate my fears to myself.

    Courage gets easier with practice, and it is pos-sible to practice with very small acts of courage.For example, outside my comfort zone, whenworking as a business advisor and a change

    agent, or when I am with family and friends, I canbe painfully shy. Talking to the young woman inthe picture on page 4, asking for permission totake the picture, did take a small but deliberateact of courage, which is why I did it.

    Strangely, the amount of courage we need tomuster bears little relation to the actual risk in-volved. Writing Tempo! required a great dealmore investment, and carried much more risk,

    5

    Courage

    I will have thecourage to live by

    my principles

    I will have the

    courage to say nowhen needed

    I will not let myselfbe used in order togain other people's

    approval

    Initiative

    I will actively

    createopportunities

    I will actively

    look foropportunities

    When I have

    an opportunity,I will use it

    Enthusiasm

    I will live mylife with

    gusto

    I will be delightedby the success of

    other people

    I will take pride inhelping other

    people succeed

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    than asking permission to take the photo, butfor me it was actually an easier choice tomake.

    For me, courage has a lot to do with beingtrue to my own self.

    WisdomWisdom, to me, means considering situationsfrom many different angles. It means weighingmy own needs and desires against the needsand desires of other people.

    For example, there was a program on TV that Iwanted to see very much tonight. Towards the

    end, when there was about twenty minutesleft, my three year old son came and wantedme to read a bedtime story. It was my wifesturn to read, but she had a few things she

    wanted to do before putting him to bed. Iweighed my desire to look at TV against my sonsneed for me to keep him company until my wifecould read him a bedtime story. My son won,

    easily. As a result, we both had fun.

    Of course, many decisions are much more diffi-cult. However, the principle of considering all thestake-holder's needs and desires remains thesame.

    For me, wisdom also means to consider and givestrong weight to long term success. I believe thatin general, it is a poor trade to exchange longterm success for short term gratification.

    TenaciousnessMost successes require tenacity. One has tokeep at something for a long time in order to

    6

    My Character

    Integrity

    Curiosity

    Theory Y

    Enthusiasm

    Initiative

    Courage

    Wisdom

    Tenaciousness

    OrganizationalCharacter

    Vision

    Mission

    Tenaciousness

    I will not

    quit!

    If I fall down, I willpick myself up, dust

    myself off, and getgoing again

    Wisdom

    I will balance myneeds and desires

    against the needsand desires ofothers

    My actions will

    further long termsuccess

    In a small organization, moving from personal principles to company principles is easy. In a largeorganization it may be a major project, involving every member in the organization. The objective isnot to get consensus, but to get everyone involved, engaged, and committed.

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    succeed. For most of that time, you may havenothing more to sustain you than the beliefthat you are doing something worthwhile,something that will eventually pay off. For ex-ample, writing Tempo! took a year and a half.For most of that time, I had little contact with

    publishers2

    . I just knew writing the book wassomething I had to do.

    Tenaciousness means more than just refusingto quit. Eventually we do fail. Sooner or later, ifI keep pushing myself, I will find myself in asituation where I do not quite measure up, andI will fail. When that happens, I will learn from

    my failure, pick myself up, dust myself off, and getback in the game.

    It does not mean I will stick to lost causes. If Iget caught in a situation where there is no wayout, like a Go master caught in atari, I will simply

    play another part of the game board. The objec-tive is winning the game, not every individualplay.

    From Personal Principles to Organiza-tional PrinciplesIn a small organization, going from principles tovision is easy.

    7

    2 This is normally bad practice when writing, partly because a good editor can be very helpful, partly because

    without a contract from a publisher, you may be investing a lot of time for something that will never be pub-lished. In this case, I had to write Tempo! no matter what, and I had to bring the work together a certain way.Next time, I will very much prefer to work with a good editor.

    Sir Richard BransonMy interest in life comes from settingmyself huge, apparently unachievablechallenges and trying to rise abovethem...from the perspective of wanting

    to live life to the full, I felt that I had toattempt it. Sir Richard Branson

    Sir Richard Branson is one of the smartestbusiness people around, and he does have thepower ofvision.

    Bransons Virgin Group is itself an example ofhis strong vision: A network organization withdecentralized power structure, held together

    by strong values, symbolized by the Virginbrand.

    Branson is one of the most influential andpowerful people around, because he figuredout an important facet of the nature of truepower: To get power, you must first give itaway.

    Bransons Virgin Galactic is about two yearsfrom starting up commercial spaceflight.

    Branson is also known for his humanitarianinitiatives. In 2007 he co-founded the Elders, a

    group of elder statesmen and other influentialpeople. The purpose is to help solve globalproblems. Other founding members wereDesmond Tutu, Graa Machel, Kofi Annan, ElaBhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter,

    Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson, and MuhammadYunus.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zhaoxinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinsonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zhaoxinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Zhaoxinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro_Harlem_Brundtlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro_Harlem_Brundtlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ela_Bhatthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ela_Bhatthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ela_Bhatthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ela_Bhatthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Annanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gra%C3%A7a_Machelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gra%C3%A7a_Machelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutuhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desmond_Tutu
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    If the organization is a one person show, per-sonal principles and company principles arethe same. If the organization is slightly larger,the principles will have to be worked out bythe system owners as a group. This can be thepeople who originally started the organization,or C-level executives.

    Tempo! provides the tools for gathering andanalyzing data from large groups of people.

    If your organization is large, I would advice in-volving everyone in the organization as early aspossible. That means you should find out whichprinciples your employees live by. (This is

    something you should do before hiring them.Unfortunately, this is rare.)

    Obviously, you cant incorporate every princi-ple proposed by every employee, but startingwith the principles your C-level team worksout, you can get your employees comments,and suggestions. This will not only bring youideas of value. It will get your employees think-ing about organizational principles and values.

    This is important, because you must create asituation where the employees willingly and

    enthusiastically embrace the principles. If you donot, the vision and mission statements you cre-ate will have little effect on behavior in the or-ganization.

    Principles and IOHAI LeadershipIn Tempo! I write about John Boyds IOHAI lead-ership model. The entire book can be regardedas an IOHAI training manual for leaders.

    In the IOHAI leadership model, the key valuesare:

    Insight skill in analysis

    Orientation The ability to switch between

    different orientations depending on circum-stances, what I called paradigm transcendence inthe diagram about the principle of curiosity.

    Harmony The ability to discern the connec-tions between seemingly unconnected events,that is synthesis and Systems Thinking.

    Agility The ability to shift from one patternof action to another very quickly, adapt to cir-cumstances, and set up a tempo forcing othersto react to you, instead of you reacting tothem.

    8

    My Character

    StrivingTowards a

    Noble Vision

    Insight

    Harmony

    Orientation

    Agility Initiative

    Integrity

    Curiosity

    Theory Y

    Enthusiasm

    Initiative

    Courage

    Wisdom

    Tenaciousness

    OrganizationalCharacter

    Vision

    Mission

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    Initiative The ability to grasp opportunitiesand act quickly, without fear.

    How do my principles map to the IOHAI model? It

    is important that they do. If they do not, I cannotbe an IOHAI leader, and that would make trainingother people to be IOHAI leaders a bit difficult.

    At least in my own mind, my personal principlesand the IOHAI leadership model map quite well.

    Integrity is necessary to engender trust. Trust is aprerequisite for organizational Agility. The reason issimple: If there is no trust, people will not commit.They will may do as they are told, but with little

    enthusiasm and initiative.

    Curiosity has driven me to develop my analysis andsynthesis skills over a period of many years. I usestructured methods for analysis and synthesis, and Iam a systems thinker. This maps to Insight, Orienta-tion and Harmony in the IOHAI model.

    Theory Y, like integrity, is a prerequisite for organ-izational Agility. People pretty much act as theirleaders expect them to act. If I expect people to behelpful, to be top performers, and to take initiative,

    and behave accordingly, their behavior will eventu-ally begin to mirror my behavior and expectations.

    Enthusiasm is necessary to sustain a behavior over along period of time. I also consider it essential fortaking Initiative.

    My take on initiative is pretty similar to the IOHAIconcept of Initiative, so no surprises there.

    Courage is a prerequisite for Initiative. Wisdom, toconsider things from different angles, is necessary forHarmony.

    Finally, tenaciousness is necessary for Initiative. Oth-erwise most initiatives will be very short and accom-plish very little.

    I dont have a vision statement yet, but I have what Ineed to get me there:

    Principles that are sound, and support each other.

    A clear picture of the behaviors I want my princi-ples to drive.

    A map from the principles I want to instill in myorganization to the leadership model I want myselfand every other leader in my organization to trainin, and to use.

    9

    Gordon RamsayRamsay's reputation is built upon hisgoal of culinary perfection. Gordon Ramsay, Wikipedia article

    Gordon Ramsays drive for culinary perfectionhas enabled him to build a highly successfulrestaurant empire, he has been the host ofseveral TV-shows, and written cook books.

    While Ramsay is known for his temper tan-trums (which I recommend you do nottry toemulate) he is also inspiring, and known tohave a very loyal and competent staff.

    Ramsay proves that you can create an inspir-ing vision even if you are not setting out tosave the world.

    Perfection can be an inspiring goal for manybusinesses, whether you have a restaurant,build cars, move lawns, or make pottery.

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    Creating a VisionNow comes a crucial question: Given the principlesI have, and the skills I and my organization have, canwe create a vision worth striving for?

    It must be a compelling statement for every stake-holder: customers, organization members, leader-ship, shareholders, business partners, subcontrac-tors...

    I do not want to cripple my vision before I get go-ing. I want my vision to have power. Therefore, Ibegin by assuming I have unlimited funding, unlim-ited time, unlimited resources. I want to scratch anitch, relieve a pain, right a wrong.

    What, in my mind, is the greatest wrong, the great-est waste, the most intolerable pain?

    In my mind, the greatest wrong in the worldis the waste of human potential!

    Thatis what I want to fix! That is my reason forbeing in business.

    To me, the waste of human potential is the rootcause of all lesser evils.

    I wrote Tempo! to show how business organiza-tions waste human potential, and what to do about

    it! It is why I write this paper, and it is why I get outof bed every morning.

    Dont get me wrong. I do not want a life of easefor everyone. That would be a disaster. If we haveeverything we want, there is no reason to strivefor anything, thus no improvement. Pretty soon wewill begin to decline.

    The problem is that while most people have a lotof potential, they are caught in systems and para-digms that make this potential very difficult to de-velop and use.

    I want to be free to develop my own potential. Todo that, I must have the paradigms that enable it,and systems that support it. Because I am a socialanimal, I need other people to share this with, somy vision is:

    A world where everyone has the opportu-nity to develop their full potential.

    In my mind, the greatest wrong in

    the world is the waste of human po-

    tential!

    Of course, it is a good thing to try a few variations

    on the theme before making the final decision:

    I want to help people achieve greatness!

    I want to help people develop their full poten-tial.

    I want to help people help themselves.

    I want to helpyou be the best you can be.

    I want to help you achieve greatness.

    A world where everyone can develop their fullpotential.

    A world where everyone can achieve their fullpotential.

    I think Ill stick with the last one:

    A world where everyone can achieve

    their full potential.

    I admit, the word great has more power than thephrase full potential, but great implies comparisonwith others, whereas full potential measures anindividual against herself.

    Note that I used the word can, not will. I cer-tainly do not want to force you off the couch, if beinga couch potato is what you reallywant.

    My vision wont change, but the expression might, soif you have a more compelling way to express it,please do tell me3.

    Vision to MissionThe hard work is done. I know what kind of a personI want to be, and I have a vision worth striving for.

    I have seen many companies where vision and mis-sion dont match. For example, a company may haveethical guidelines of a high standard, and yet have amission and reward systems that encourage ethicallyquestionable behavior in order to achieve short termreturn on investment.

    10

    3 Email me at [email protected]. If I use your suggestion, Ill give you full credit for it of course.

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    Often C-level executives are aware of these prob-lems. It is just that they find it difficult to deal withthem. It is partly because the trust and cooperationdescribed in the mission statement is more of a wishthan actual reality, and partly because the propertools for creating a coherent vision and mission aremissing.

    Intermediate Objective Maps (IO Map) are excellentfor this. I describe how to use them in Tempo!, sothere is no need for me to do so here. (After all, Ima writer. Id prefer it if you read the whole book.)

    The IO Map on page 11 shows the vision at the top.Below it is the mission, the Critical Success Factorsnecessary to achieve the vision, and two levels ofNecessary Conditions required to achieve the Criti-cal Success Factors.

    Note that the IO Map shows what to accomplish, butnot how to do it. That is as it should be. Top man-agement should leave it to the people working forthem to figure out the details given the IO Map, thebasic principles, and the sample behaviors.

    If top management goes to deep, it will have two un-fortunate consequences:

    It will rob employees of the opportunity to exer-cise initiative and creativity, which will also kill their

    commitment.

    The organization will be unable to adapt to differ-ent situations. For example, to achieve Efficient hab-its, employees may choose to adopt Coveys 7 hab-its, the Pomodoro technique, eXtreme Program-ming, Kanban, Drum-Buffer-Rope, buy a new tool,or do something entirely different, depending onthe situation.

    Management cannot predict what efficientmeans in

    every situation. Trying to do it will only lead tomaking and trying to enforce rules that hamperthe organization as a whole.

    What management must do is to grow peoplecapable of making good decisions about theirown work. Employees must also be able to un-derstand the effects of their decisions on otherparts of the value stream they are a part of.Hence the need for organizing around valuestreams, and IOHAI training (or equivalent) for

    all leaders in the organization.

    11

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    Of course, since I am in the position of beingboth captain and crew in my own little organi-zation, I have worked out the lower levels ofmy personal IO Map. However, that is a topicfor a different article.

    Three Simple RulesVision and mission statements are great for think-ing through what you wish to accomplish, and howto do it. An IO Map has the added advantage ofbeing concise and clear.

    However, even an IO Map can be to complex fordaily use. In Tempo! I suggest creating no more thanthree simple rules to guide everyday behavior ofpeople in the organization. I also provide examplesof organizations that have done just that, with ex-cellent results.

    What would three rules be that embody my princi-ples, my attitude, my vision and mission? These arethe ones I have picked for myself:

    Treat the customer like a highly valued friend

    Go for Win-Win solutions

    Go and find out for myself

    These simple rules encourage me to act with integ-rity, seek a deep understanding of a system beforeproposing a solution, and look for solutions that sat-isfy all stakeholders.

    Obviously, to accomplish this, I need all the otherthings I value, like insatiable curiosity, a deep under-standing of systems, including human behavior, cour-

    age, initiative, and a great deal of enthusiasm.

    12

    Seeing Things DifferentlyMy family and I recently visited friends innorthern Sweden. We all took lots of pictures.

    The day before we went back home we allwatched the pictures we had taken. One ofour friends, who is an excellent photographer,

    much better than I will ever be, remarked thatmy wife and I had photographed quite differ-ent things than he had.

    My wife and I had taken pictures of the land-scape and of buildings that to him were quiteordinary, until he saw our pictures. Suddenlyhe saw his environment the way we saw it, asexotic, exciting and beautiful.

    This struck me as an excellent metaphor for

    the work I wish to do: Bringing a fresh per-spective, and thereby opening up new possi-bilities for growth and development.

  • 8/14/2019 Tempo! From Character to Vision

    13/13

    All I need to do now, is to make the vision happen.It will be a challenge, but much easier now, when Iknow where I am headed.

    If you find this article useful, please do write to meand tell me about it.

    References and Acknowledgements

    Articles on the Web: Vision, Mission, Principles And the Human

    Brain, article by Henrik Mrtensson. Pub-lished on Scribd.

    Photographs Spaceship One In Flight, from WikiMedia

    Commons Woman with backpack, by Henrik Mrtens-

    son

    Sir Richard Branson, photo by NASA. Theoriginal can be found at WikiMedia Com-mons

    Gordon Ramsay, photo by Dave Pullig. Origi-nal available on Wikipedia.

    Red Mountain, by Henrik Mrtensson

    About Henrik Mrtensson

    Henrik Mrtensson is a management consultantand business advisor.

    Henrik has worked for Ericsson Hewlett-Packard, Volvo 3P, Volvo IT, Wirelesscar, FMV, Sca-nia, Astra-Zeneca and many other companies.

    Henrik is a prolific writer, with more than 250published magazine articles, and several technical

    manuals to his credit. His blog, Kallokain, wasnominated for NOOPs list of most influentialbloggers in 2008. Henrik is also a member of Ag-ileZones Most Valued Blogger program.

    Henriks videocasts about management on theKallokain channel at YouTube have been viewedmore than 30,000 times.

    You can contact Henrik by

    phone: +46 708 56 23 65email: [email protected]: rubyistTwitter: @Kallokainor, visit Henriks web sites:

    www.henrikmartensson.org

    kallokain.blogspot.com

    www.youtube.com/user/kallokain

    13

    http://www.youtube.com/user/kallokainhttp://www.youtube.com/user/kallokainhttp://kallokain.blogspot.com/http://kallokain.blogspot.com/http://www.henrikmartensson.org/http://www.henrikmartensson.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_Ramsay.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_Ramsay.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_Ramsay.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gordon_Ramsay.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Branson.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_Branson.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaceship_One_in_flight_1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaceship_One_in_flight_1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaceship_One_in_flight_1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spaceship_One_in_flight_1.jpghttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brainhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/18113442/Vision-Mission-Principles-and-the-Human-Brain