A well-articulated business vision means having documented clarity of your required business outcomes, what your organisation or department is aiming to achieve over the short, medium and longer term. It has two primary aims:
- To ensure your internal team understand and agree to deliver that vision.
- That any service providers also understand the vision. It’s important that your potential or incumbent providers can ensure any services they provide clearly align to your organisation’s vision and outcomes. Where their services cannot align to that vision, it is for them to advise or ‘warn’ you pre-contractually of what compromises you and they will have to live with as a result, and the impact on your outcomes such compromises in service delivery will necessitate.
What should a good business vision contain?
A well-articulated business vision is made up of eight elements:
- Clarity of Vision: A good business vision should be clear and concise, with a well-defined and easily understandable purpose. It should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). The vision should also be aligned with the company’s mission and values.
- Clear Business Outcomes and Objectives: The vision should define clear outcomes and objectives for the business, indicating what the company intends to achieve in the long-term. These objectives should be actionable, measurable, and focused on delivering value to the company’s stakeholders.
- An Explicit Business Strategy: The vision should include a clear and concise business strategy that outlines the steps the company will take to achieve its objectives. The strategy should consider the company’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and the competitive landscape
- The Business Case: The business case outlines the reasons why the company should pursue the vision, including the potential benefits and risks associated with the vision. It should demonstrate a clear understanding of the company’s competitive advantages and the market opportunities available.
- Business Objectives ‘Status’ Definition: This element refers to the process of defining and monitoring the status of the business objectives. This is important to ensure that progress is being made towards the vision, and that any necessary adjustments can be made to the strategy as needed.
- SMART KPIs: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). KPIs should be aligned with the business objectives and should provide a clear and measurable indication of progress towards the vision.
- Roles and Responsibilities Allocation: This element refers to the process of allocating roles and responsibilities to individuals or teams within the organisation. This ensures that everyone understands their specific responsibilities towards achieving the vision.
- Operational Governance: The vision should be supported by clear operational governance processes, including decision-making structures, reporting mechanisms, and performance management systems. This ensures that the vision is being implemented effectively and efficiently, and that progress towards the vision is being monitored and measured.
The role of management
A competent, aligned and informed management team that is united on the principles of an articulated business vision with the above-mentioned eight elements, means the right operating disciplines will be in place to assure the success of the service delivery relationship and that it will continue to innovate to drive maximum value in the relationship.
Clarity is key
This type of clarity in a well-articulated business vision provides (1) an accelerated timescale to full benefits realisation, (2) significantly reduced service delivery costs and misunderstandings, and (3) a highly positive reputational impact.
Do You Want to Know More About this or Other Procurement Topics?
Learn more about the purpose of a well-articulated Business Vision and its role in the procurement process and access further responses to FAQs in our dedicated FAQ page or a wider range of thought leadership articles in our Blog pages.
