The Strategic Pyramid
The Strategic Pyramid
April 17, 2012 at 10:00 am
Here’s a simple model that puts the major concepts of the last 20 years into a clearly defined hierarchy. The next time you address the top-level drivers behind your business or brand, download the slide below to get your team on the same page.
Notice in the pyramid that mission and vision are on the same level. They’re like unidentical twins that reveal the “how” and the “what” of future success. Most CEOs get this wrong, using mission and vision interchangeably. Also notice that purpose is on a higher level than both mission and vision. That’s because even when the mission isn’t going well and the vision seems like a mirage, a strong purpose will keep people coming back to work day after day.
That’s it. Now you can start building a strategy that all your stakeholders can understand.
What a beautiful crystallization of these concepts! People can get so wrapped around the axle trying to sort through the various elements of strategy. I love the simplicity of this. The time ranges are especially useful. It all resonates with my experience and will be a useful touch stone in my work. Thanks so much!
Love this Marty! I often tell clients your vision is your picture, your future state. Your mission guides how you are going to get there. This is a perfect framework and extremely useful. Thanks for sharing.
Kudos. Thank you for your clear and elegant solution to resolving the universal confusion about these terms. 100% pure Marty. Does this mean that I can publish it in my 4th edition?
I like your distillation of thought.
I bit of a quibble, shouldn’t the Purpose be the foundation upon which the Mission and Vision rest? This type of information graphic generally uses this convention? e.g. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the food pyramid.
Steven, my view is that the mission and vision support the purpose. You can have a purpose without a mission and vision, but you can’t have a mission and vision without a purpose. The purpose determines everything in the system. It’s not the same as Maslow’s pyramid, which is more like a ladder.
Hi Marty,
Love the Pyramid!!
Wondering if you have an example of one in completed from that you can share?
Thanks a ton,
Mark Eckhardt
Mark, we’ve done a lot of work around these elements, but our clients would have to consent to any sharing. If I find it’s possible, I’ll let you know.
Hi Marty! Great approach to capture mission and vision w.r.t. purpose. I also struggle a bit with the pyramid, since it implies ‘bottom up’ building and reading. Why not putting the thing on it’s head? – it would wake up many managers for sure and make them pay attention ;-) Personally I read your pyramid as a beam: starting with purpose, it radiates through the what and the how, to come to the concrete goal.
Hi Steven
See your point, but I guess it depends on how you view the ‘model’. Totally agree that Purpose is the foundation, so if you are looking at the pyramid as an ‘edifice’ perhaps it should be at the bottom, propping up the rest, as it certainly needs to come first. However, looking at the pyramid as a ‘cascade’, Purpose comes at the top which then need Mission/Vision to bring it to life, which in turn require shorter-term Goals and actions. One could argue forever about how best this (and many other theoretical models) should be graphically represented but in essence I think we are all agreeing the same thing. What is important is to understand the elements, and how they fit together in our own minds – in this case, to have a strong Purpose at the core (yep, we could also show the model as concentric rings/a target/an apple – the list goes on!).
I always thought Mission was defined by the formula: Mission = Vision + Action. However, putting Purpose at the top of the pyramid is genius. Thanks Marty!
This is a very useful framework, but it is not a strategy framework. Strategy actually sits between Mission and Vision and the Goals. It tells people how we going to win in a very competitive world.
In my view a mission is not a plan–it usually does not include actions. It may include customers, value proposition and critical capabilities.
To me, the timeframes also seem a little long for the real world. Most companies won’t exist in five to twenty years. Personally, it would seem more real if the timeframes were 3-10 years.
Bob, I don’t think we disagree that much.
Strategy is what activates the pyramid. I suppose you could define a mission as a kind of uber-goal, but most of our clients think of it as a goal-driven plan of action.
I think where a lot of leaders get confused is that they use vision and mission interchangeably, or mission and purpose interchangeably.
On the time-frames, I’m probably too optimistic. I’ve been overly influenced by Jim Collins. In Silicon Valley, often, companies are not built to last.
WOW,
SIMPLICITY IN ACTION
Bob,
I actually like that the time frames are long for the mission and vision. Goals are nimble but a company or organization should be so clear about their mission, vision and purpose that it doesn’t change or changes very little over the life of the business. This is what creates a solid brand that people know, trust and follow.
Excellent .-)
Alexander
Hi Marty,
Well done, again. Clarity is such a powerful force…
I believe purpose, mission and vision are an integral part of the brand strategy, as they form the energy source and foundation that the brand strategy is built upon. Too many people seem to think that the pyramid is something detached from the brand (even the business strategy). Personally I think the problem is in the way the pyramid has been presented by companies, i.e. in unimaginative ways that bore people to death.
Now when we have clarity around the pyramid, why don’t we start using purpose, vision and mission in more creative and inspiring ways. They provide such great sources for innovation and differentiation, yet for so many companies they mean next to nothing. (Here’s a good example: (as Chipotle did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMfSGt6rHos).
Thanks for great stuff over the years! I am a fan.
Love this Marty! Great!
I have the same question about ‘a example created’, that Mark Eckhardt told. If you have any pyramid created, are you could be show it? Congratulations on simplicity Marty.
@pauloperes
Paulo, I tried to answer this yesterday, but it looks like it didn’t post.
It’s difficult to share examples of “filled in” pyramids, since our clients like to keep certain things proprietary. Sometimes they’re willing to share their mission and vision statements, but often they prefer to keep their purpose and goals closely held, for obvious reasons. Maybe sometime in the future.
Marty:
Thank you for continuing to distill complex ideas into such simple language. I often say to our clients that “Simple is not easy”…but you make the process of simplification seem effortless. It is an honor to work with you.
very useful! thanks.
how and where do you see the strategy (how are we going to reach the goals) coming in this pyramid? cheers – Alexander
Alexander, the pyramid represents the “what,” to which the “how” of strategy is applied. Typically, the strategy addresses the goals below the mission/vision, and at a higher level, the mission and vision themselves. The purpose is adequately addressed by the bottom two levels, so all you have to do is make sure that they support the purpose. Does that help?
Mart, if i may call you by your name , the tool speaks on its own , clear ,simple and efficient.
cheers-Morad
A cool blog post right there mate ! Cheers for the post !
Simple and surprising – great. It also helps me dealing with this problem: One of my clients feels the need to change the company tagline. Because he does not take it serious and is feeling kind of board of it as soon as it starts to work in communication. In my point of view the tagline should put the essence of the company purpose in a (at best) catching phrase. So I will also use this very clever pyramid to demonstrate how nuts it is to change a company tagline up on a whim. Assumed that the existing tagline is a creative essence of the company purpose. So this is my link from strategy to communication. Wonder what other fields of application are opened up by integrating the pyramid into my work. Many thanks!
Thanks Marty, beautiful thinking, beautiful work. And yes, I will Pin it, share it, even borrow some of it, but I’ll give you proper credit whenever I can!
I must say coming across your materials has tremendously helped to sharpen my understanding of so many critical topics ranging from branding, organisational effectiveness and value creation. I am often stunned by the way you unbundle, unpack and rearrange complex ideas. I am blessed
A very good framework and explanation of purpose, mission vision and goals. However, it is not “The Strategic Pyramid,” a name that implies it covers business strategy. I my view strategy is another element, probably below mission and vision that explains how the mission and vision vision could be achieved. Fundamentally, it has to explain why and how you will be able to beat current and future competitors.
Bob, I agree that strategy is viewed this way today. I’d like to see it elevated above the level of goals to address the question of why a business exists. This is where strategic thinking can really make a difference.
I like to call the purpose, mission and vision the IDEOLOGY, then talk separately about STRATEGY. How does that word work for you to?
Tobias, the word ideology seems like a cool update of values, which is connected with purpose—the reason a company is in business beyond making money. Your model seems logical enough, but in my view it reduces strategy to the level of tactics. Strategy needs to address the WHY and the WHAT of a business, not just the HOW. It determines why a company MATTERS to the world, not just how it will achieve its goals.
Hi Marty. That’s a great point you are making. I definitely see strategy primarily as a HOW thing, however, for me it encompasses more than tactics in the way that its not about the tactical steps one defines to reach some goal, but rather the directional choices one makes. And to your point, purpose etc. would be those kinds of choices, as they affect the direction. The word ideology is not the perfect word for sure, but I like it because it connotes words such as “movement” and “worldview” etc. which I believe is in the right zone of thinking for companies, especially in these times.
Thanks for so many great reading experiences and food for thought. You left me hungry for more :)
Marty, once again, your sense of clarity is amazing! I’ve been following you from the first issue of Critique (sad when it ended) and throughout all your books. (just started Meta Skills). Your thought leadership continues to bring clarity and objectivity to many conceptual topics that fill our corporate meetings with useless jargon no one bothers to define or connect into a sustainable system. I love the clarity and the presentation you bring to these concepts, and refer to them often.
I do have a question: Where do you think Values and Expectations fit into this model? Personally I consider the Purpose the WHY, or the core, true for an individual or corporation. Would you say Values derive from the Purpose or from Mission and Vision (the two unidentical twins, as you described them)? Values have to derive from somewhere instead of being “invented”. When Values are rooted in something greater, they are able to sustain and grow. Expectations can then be formed from these values… I’ve always presented Values and Expectations as being part of a larger system, instead of being disjointed. What is your take on that?
Doru, my belief is that values (and expectations) should be part and parcel of a company’s core purpose, just as you say. Values, like purpose, should never change. They’re the soul of the company.
Let me know what you think of Metaskills. In the chapter “The Primacy of Purpose,” I explain the Strategic Pyramid in more depth.