VISION
Don’t confuse core ideology itself with core- ideology statements. A company can have a very strong core ideology without a formal statement. For example, Nike has not (to our knowledge) for- mally articulated a statement of its core purpose. Yet, according to our observations, Nike has a pow- erful core purpose that permeates the entire organi- zation: to experience the emotion of competition, winning, and crushing competitors. Nike has a campus that seems more like a shrine to the com- petitive spirit than a corporate office complex. Giant photos of Nike heroes cover the walls, bronze plaques of Nike athletes hang along the Nike Walk of Fame, statues of Nike athletes stand alongside the running track that rings the campus, and build- ings honor champions such as Olympic marathoner Joan Benoit, basketball superstar Michael Jordan, and tennis pro John McEnroe. Nike people who do not feel stimulated by the competitive spirit and the urge to be ferocious simply do not last long in the culture. Even the company’s name reflects a sense of competition: Nike is the Greek goddess of victory. Thus, although Nike has not formally ar- ticulated its purpose, it clearly has a strong one.
Identifying core values and purpose is therefore not an exercise in wordsmithery. Indeed, an organi- zation will generate a variety of statements over time to describe the core ideology. In Hewlett- Packard‘s archives, we found more than half a dozen distinct versions of the HP Way, drafted by David Packard between 1956 and 1972. All versions stated the same principles, but the words used var- ied depending on the era and the circumstances. Similarly, Sony’s core ideology has been stated many different ways over the company’s history. At its founding, Masaru Ibuka described two key elements of Sony’s ideology: “We shall welcome technical difficulties and focus on highly sophisti- cated technical products that have great usefulness for society regardless of the quantity involved; we shall place our main emphasis on ability, perfor- mance, and personal character so that each individ- ual can show the best in ability and skill.” 2 Four decades later, this same concept appeared in a state- ment of core ideology called Sony Pioneer Spirit: “Sony is a pioneer and never intends to follow oth- ers. Through progress, Sony wants to serve the whole world. It shall be always a seeker of the un-
Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals Aid Long-Term Vision
Target BHAGs can be quantitative or qualitative
Role-model BHAGs suit up-and-coming organizations
Become a $125 billion company by the year 2000 (Wal-Mart, 1990) Democratize the automobile (Ford Motor Company, early 1900s) Become the company most known for changing the worldwide poor-quality image of Japanese products (Sony, early 1950s) Become the most powerful, the most serviceable, the most far-reaching world financial institution that has ever been (City Bank, predecessor to Citicorp, 1915) Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age (Boeing, 1950)
Become the Nike of the cycling industry (Giro Sport Design, 1986) Become as respected in 20 years as Hewlett-Packard is today (Watkins-Johnson, 1996) Become the Harvard of the West (Stanford University, 1940s)
Internal-transformation BHAGs suit large, established organizations
Become number one or number two in every market we serve and revolutionize this company to have the strengths of a big company combined with the leanness and agility of a small company (General Electric Company, 1980s) Transform this company from a defense contractor into the best diversified high-technology company in the world (Rockwell, 1995) Transform this division from a poorly respected internal products supplier to one of the most respected, exciting, and sought-after divisions in the company (Components Support Division of a computer products company, 1989)
Common-enemy BHAGs involve David-versus-Goliath thinking
Knock off RJR as the number one tobacco company in the world (Philip Morris, 1950s) Crush Adidas (Nike, 1960s) Yamaha wo tsubusu! We will destroy Yamaha! (Honda, 1970s)
72
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW September-October 1996
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs