• Start a thread focusing on whether the three company vision statements achieve the criterion for a good vision statement, as listed in Table 2.1
• In what way are the vision statements clear or unclear? Your initial posting should involve reflection.

TABLE 2.1 The Dos Wording a Vision Statement-the Dos and Don'ts Be graphic. Paint a clear picture of where the company is headed and the market position(s) the company is striving to stake out. Be forward-looking and directional. Describe the strategic course that will help the company prepare for the future. Keep it focused. Focus on providing managers with guidance in making decisions and allocating resources. Have some wiggle room. Language that allows some flexibility allows the directional course to be adjusted as market, customer, and technology circumstances change. Be sure the journey is feasible. The path and direction should be within the realm of what the company can accomplish; over time, a company should be able to demonstrate measurable progress in achieving the vision. Indicate why the directional path makes good business sense. The directional path should be in the long-term interests of stakeholders (especially shareholders, employees, and suppliers). Make it memorable. A well-stated vision is short, easily communicated, and memorable. Ideally, it should be reducible to a few choice lines or a one- phrase slogan. The Don'ts Don't be vague or incomplete. Never skimp on specifics about where the company is headed or how the company intends to prepare for the future. Don't dwell on the present. A vision is not about what a company once did or does now; it's about "where we are going." Don't use overly broad language. Avoid all-inclusive language that gives the company license to pursue any opportunity. Don't state the vision in bland or uninspiring terms. The best vision statements have the power to motivate company personnel and inspire shareholder confidence about the company's future. Don't be generic. A vision statement that could apply to companies in any of several industries (or to any of several companies in the same industry) is not specific enough to provide any guidance. Don't rely on superlatives. Visions that claim the company's strategic course is the "best" or "most successful" usually lack specifics about the path the company is taking to get there. Don't run on and on. A vision statement that is not concise and to the point will tend to lose its audience. Sources: John P. Kotter, Leading Change (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1996); Hugh Davidson, The Committed Enterprise (Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann, 2002); Michel Robert, Strategy Pure and Simple II (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992).