Lean Six Sigma Roadmap-The Vision Statement Most Lean Six Sigma experts speak of a roadmap toward Operational Excellence or Continuous Improvement. Starting the Lean journey needs to begin with a Vision Statement followed by a Mission Statement and then a developed list of Strategy or objective statements which can guide practitioners to projects where methods such as DMAIC can be effective. The Vision Statement should be clear, short and easy for everyone to remember. The classic example comes from General Electric’s, “We bring good things to Life”. It is simple and clean but it also speaks the essentials to customers, investors, and employees. Often Vision Statements are internally focused rather than external which is self-defeating. Regardless of what the organization provides be it a service or a product somebody somewhere must want whatever it is the organization is providing. Revenue generation is the key as any small business owner can attest. Anyone can attend auctions and see evidence of a 5s program, visual management and Kanban areas painted on a factory floor no longer used for manufacturing. Obviously the Vision Statement faltered perhaps because the organization was so anxious to be Lean it skipped the step to internalize or even write a vision statement. Vision Statements need to be short. Including language about social and environmental responsibilities, how employees should be happy, etc… can best be included in a mission statement or the strategy. Usually one or two sentences are enough to answer what is the organization to become in the future for the customer. If the goal of the organization is to be successful in terms of profits and respected by the customer due to superior quality, service, and pricing, then saying successful and respected is probably enough. Good Vision Statements speak to us with simple phrases. Otis Elevator wants to provide, “a means of moving people and things up, down, and sideways over short distances”. Some experts want to include some reference to the market being served, what contribution to the market is being provided and what distinquishes the organization from others. Market: What group is to be served by the organization? Not just customers but what type of customers (those buying a car, or food or those wanting a particular service or experience like tax preparation or a movie). Contribution: What will organization provide the customer? Distinction: What sets the organization apart from others? This portion is usually a bit forward thinking and may appear to be somewhat “motherhood and apple pie”. Wal-Mart’s vision is, “To offer all the fine customers in our territories all of their household needs in a manner in which they will continue to think of us fondly”. If the Vision Statement is properly stated the mission statement, strategies, objectives, and projects become much easier to define. If the statement does not focus on the external the organization can fulfill its mission, complete all its projects and realize its vision all the way to the time it goes out of existence.