Every leader knows how important it is to carve out and communicate the Vision, Mission and Values (VMV) of an organisation – its ‘DNA’. And there’s plenty of advice on how to go about it, from multiple, lengthy engagement activities to simple top-down inspiration, there’s no shortage or ‘experts’ out there.

But how many know how to make the Vision visible through actions? How to make the Values a living and breathing ‘heart’?

For some reason this stumps many.  Somehow it is assumed that because you have created your VMV, defined it, written it, communicated it, and everyone knows it… then somehow it will just happen…..

Sadly, for the most part, not true. Horses and water come to mind.

Here’s our answer: finish the job: don’t stop at VMV. Get down to brass tacks… define the B – Behaviors – which will make values measurable, observable, rewardable… and yes, punishable…

(Ok, so maybe not that severe, but yes, unless you are prepared to reward positive impact and penalise actions which have a negative impact on your VMV, then don’t waste your time…… VMV is just a wish list.)

Imagine a civilization where the law is secret… you only find out about it when you get rewarded or penalised. People wait, see, copy others who get rewarded/punished…and this is exactly what happens in many organisations! People need clarity – actions which create a positive impact on VMV and actions which create a negative impact on VMV.

With clarity people can make choices. (We still may make bad ones, but at least we know what we are doing)

Here’s our model for VMVB…it’s what we do: create and integrate the ‘B’ into your ‘VMV’. We think we do it pretty well and so do our clients. Check us out at www.talentmakers.in, and send us your views on this topic!