A well-stated vision and mission can be critical to the overall success of your business and brand. Together they help focus, guide, align, and inspire those inside and even outside your organization. It's important not to confuse the two nor fuse them together into a single "mission/vision." 

William Drohan provides us a helpful distinction: "A vision statement pushes the association toward some future goal or achievement, while a mission statement guides current, critical, strategic decision making." Pretty straightforward stuff.

A well-defined set of core values builds upon and extends beyond your vision and mission. Values help personify your organization while articulating the characteristics that matter most. They should reflect your organization's culture and climate as well as transcend people, products, and processes. 

Core values can be either intrinsic (e.g., integrity, respect, compassion) or extrinsic (e.g., excellence, innovation, advocacy). Ideally, yours will include a healthy mix of both. 

Below are some basic questions that I walk through with my clients during the "discovery" phase of strategic planning. Hopefully, they will help you assess how firm a foundation your business and brand are built upon.

1. What is your stated vision, mission, and set of values?

2. How clear and compelling are they to both internal and external audiences?

3. Are they comprehensive yet concise--saying everything they ought to say, not everything they could possibly say? 

4. Are they easy to remember, internalize, and articulate?

5. Do they capture the heart and soul of your organization?

6. Is there awareness and buy-in across your organization?

7. Are they believable to those inside as well as outside the organization--are you individually and collectively able to deliver on the expectations you create? 

On February 18th, Keith Brophy presented the following at GVSU's Eberhard Center. The event was very well attended and the overall mood was upbeat despite the current economic climate in Michigan.

Topic: Evolution of the cell phone

Prediction: Within 5 years, 50% of adults are tracked in home or office via phone tracking applications.

Topic: Extinction of Paper

Prediction: In 5 years, only one-third as many newspapers and books are published on paper. Alternatives to paper, such as on-line forms, E-paper products and E-reader delivery boom.

Topic: Evolution of Social Networking

Prediction: In 3 years, social networking becomes as pre-requisite as phone and electricity across the full range of age demographics. Organizations continue to embrace Facebook as it loses its "teen" status and opens the way for acceptance of other similar business social networking solutions.

Topic: New Energy Source

Prediction: In 5 years, we will find the early generation of a new heat-to-electricity energy harvester (the thermoelectric generator) on a wide variety of products. This will be the beginning of a revolution in the way we use energy.

Topic: Evolution of the PC

Prediction: In 3 years, the majority of us use Netbook computers, as traditional desktops and laptops largely fade to the background.

Topic: Evolution of How We Interact with Computers

Prediction: In 5 years, software lives in clouds and the computer platform is everywhere.

Topic: Cyborgs

Prediction: In 5 years, simple cyborgs appear and social and legal issues begin to rage.

Topic: AniRobos

Prediction: In 5 years, 20% of professionals, 20% of business offices, 30% of homes have mobile helpers or AniRobos.

Topic: Data Communes

Prediction: In 5 years, we own an "overall e-record" of our lives that we grant electronic entities selective access to; many regions gain advantage by aggregating this; and privacy issues rage across all sectors as collective personal data begins to be viewed as gold.

Topic: Evolution of Role of Elderly to a that of Workplace Sages

Prediction: In 5 years, we see the start of a remarkable shift in workplace demographics and workflow. There is a societal shift of age-based roles fueled by explosion of age-supporting technology that pushes net-era Seniors to the forefront.

Welcome to the new website and blog for XLER | Marketing & Brand Consultancy.

I would appreciate any feedback that you might have (e.g., first impressions, likes, dislikes, questions, suggestions). My hope is that I will be able to provide an online experience worthy of your time and attention.

- Bill

I recently contributed to the book Leading CMOs on Assessing New Trends, Analyzing Changing Demographics, and Incorporating Global Trends Into Your Marketing Strategy. My chapter, Marketing Trends: A Mix of Old, New, and Renewed, identified the five major trends impacting our publishing company's marketing communications and branding efforts. Specifically...

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Dylan Thomas warned against going "gentle into that good night."

I prefer a similar (though slightly cruder) observation by William Hurt in The Big Chill. Reflecting on how his friend Alex spent his last night on earth, Hurt's character Nick says, "He went out with a bang, not a whimper."

So whatever you do with the time you are given, don't fail to leave your mark. Have something that you have worked on that let's you say, "If it all ended tomorrow, at least I had a small part of THAT!"

Here's one of mine, Inspired by... The Bible Experience: 2007 Audio Book of the Year and recipient of both a Silver Anvil and Effie award.

Z

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Here's a story you might be familiar with.

A pastor was taking a much needed sabbatical in the mountains of Eastern Europe. He was desperate for physical rest, emotional replenishment, spiritual renewal, and vocational recommitment. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

One morning while taking a walk in the woods a soldier appeared, rifle raised. It seemed that the pastor had crossed over the border into what was then the USSR. The soldier, whose sole assignment was to guard this invisible line between countries, shouted, "Stop! Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Although the pastor heard the question, he didn't respond. So the guard repeated, his voice (like the situation) elevated, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Instead of answering the soldier's question, the pastor asked one of his own. "How much do you get paid to do what you do?"

And then the pastor made a most unusual offer, "Because I will gladly double your salary if you come back to where I live, stand guard outside my house, and every morning when I step outside my door stop me and ask those same two questions."

Now think about that for a moment. How would you answer the border guard?

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