The Values of a Balanced Culture

Organizational values, as the criteria that guide decision-making, play a central role in the implementation of management by missions (MBM). Most social organizations today develop a set of values. These sets of values are normally treated as fixed and even as untouchable. However, over time, some values change and evolve both in the organizational environment and within the organizations themselves. Some values may fall into the background, while others should come to the forefront. As a result, leaders need to adapt to these changes and create corporate cultures that best align with their corporate purpose over time. In this chapter, we propose a framework to help organizations create balanced sets of values in four categories: business, relational, development and contribution values.

Deploying Purpose

The main challenge of management by missions (MBM) is to bring the purpose to life for employees at all levels, so that it becomes more than just a generic statement. In this chapter, we introduce the concept of “shared missions,” which distribute the company’s missions at all levels of the company. Through the shared missions, the corporate purpose is deployed throughout the company’s various areas, teams and, eventually, each individual.

Tools for Managing Purpose

In order to successfully implement management by missions (MBM), it is necessary to redesign “traditional” management tools—typically grounded in an MBO philosophy—so that they are oriented toward the corporate purpose. In this chapter, we discuss how to do this on five basic management areas: strategic planning, deployment of objectives, missions’ scorecard, talent development and performance appraisal.

What Are Companies For?

Management by missions (MBM) starts by asking a fundamental question: What is your company for? It seems reasonable to assume that an organization and its members should have a clear idea of why they exist. In practice, however, that is not always the case. Very often, there is great confusion and conflict of opinion on this point, even within the board of directors or executive committee. In this chapter, we explore this fundamental question first by discussing the role of profit in business (as a mean or an end). Then we propose a specific definition of purpose as the synthesis of the ends of a company. We then introduce the three dimensions of an effective purpose: Authenticity, Coherence and Integrity. Finally, we discuss the relationship between personal and corporate purpose.

The Limits of Management by Objectives

Many companies today experience a critical strategic contradiction. Their corporate purpose and values have evolved into what could be described as a humanistic vision while, at the same time, their management systems, mostly built around management by objectives (MBO), are designed to maximize shareholder value. Everything—customer service, talent development, even their philanthropy—is a means to increase profit. The problem is not about the objectives themselves, but rather their widespread misuse through the MBO system. Judging by the results of four decades of research, MBO has not been able to bring employees’ full potential into play. In this chapter, we analyze the limits of management by objectives and their consequences at organizational and personal levels.

Different Ways of Viewing an Organization

From the industrial revolution to the present, scholars, consultants and experts in different disciplines have tried to answer the fundamental question: What is a business? In this chapter, we structure these historical perspectives in the following groups: Mechanical, Organic and Cultural. The mechanical perspective provides the “rational logic” of planning and supervision. The organic perspective adds creativity and initiative. Finally, the cultural perspective promotes internal unity through a common purpose that harnesses the commitment and engagement of the company’s members. From the combination of the three perspectives, we introduce the “Integrated Organizational Model” as the conceptual foundation of management by missions (MBM).

Is There a Link Between Corporate Purpose and Performance?

After 50 years of debate on this crucial question, the evidence is increasingly strong in favor of “yes”: companies can achieve better results if they incorporate practices that foster people’s sense of purpose. This relationship seems to be valid for very different types of industries and various business strategies within the cost-differentiation spectrum. However, causality between purpose and performance is not as linear as some literature and consultants seem to indicate. In this chapter, we discuss this relationship under the perspective of unity (the degree of mutual trust and commitment to the company experienced by people who contribute to fulfilling its purpose). Based on this perspective, we provide a framework that distinguishes four types of cultures: bureaucratic, paternalistic, aggressive and competent.

Missions: For Whom Does the Company Exist?

The unbundling of the corporate purpose in specific missions is a central question for management by missions (MBM). Missions, understood as the contributions that characterize the purpose, have been present in management life for close to half a century and today are one of the main management tools used by companies around the world. In this chapter, we discuss the relationship between purpose and missions. More specifically, we show how management by missions nurtures the development of purpose in three fundamental dimensions: content, credibility and sense of urgency.

Missions-Driven Leadership

In this chapter, we present the leadership style required by management by missions (MBM). We first make a brief review of the different types of leadership that have been proposed in the past: transactional, transformational and transcendental leadership. And then, we propose the key competencies of missions-driven leadership (MDL) structured in four areas: commitment with purpose and missions, developing a culture of cooperation through a sense of purpose, ability to implement the changes required by the organization’s purpose and the struggle for control the personal ego.