High Performance Organizations KNOW where they are going. They have clearly defined their Vision (picture of success for 3-5 years ahead), their Mission (why they exist), and their Strategies (levers for accomplishing the vision). In addition to describing the target for mission/business success, they have clearly articulated their Core Values (the organization's behavioral and social norms) and use those in their recruitment, screening, hiring, orientation, and performance management systems.

Visions: PBI uses Balanced Scorecard thinking (looking at your organization from 4 different perspectives – Customer, Financial, Internal Processes, and Organizational Capacity (People, Technology, and Infrastructure)) to create visible, measurable, and compelling Visions and Strategic Directions. Sample vision statements from recent engagements include:

• Customers view our products as designed, implemented, and serviced based on their input and needs
• Our performance management culture connects individuals to the vision to drive desired performance and collaborative teamwork

Core Values: PBI also helps organizations "discover" their Core Values. The Core Values are expressed as "what we stand for" statements, but with behavioral anchors that describe the expectations behind them (and how they'll be measured).

A sample set of Core Values from our webmaster NetStrategies follows:

We trust and collaborate with each other to achieve greater results. We do that through:

• Direct, respectful, and open communication leaves no room for doubt.
• We help each other grow individually and collectively.
• We take a team approach to problem solving.
• We have fun and enjoy each other's company.
• Trust is earned and cherished.
• We celebrate our team achievements.
• Face-to-face/phone communication is always our first choice.