Clarity of Purpose

"Process over progress"; "Analysis Paralysis"; "Bogged down in the details"... there are many sayings used daily in Corporate America all saying basically the same thing; "We have lost sight of the objective and our project, meeting, memo or presentation has gone way off course."

Vision statements were supposed to provide the commonality of objective needed to move a group or team toward a specific goal. Written by committee these "visions" often resemble little better than the winning entry in the "Who can use the most jargon" contest.

If the goal is to sell widgets, say that. If the goal is to provide technical assistance to customers installing a product or using a service, say that instead. In the end, in depth discussions on "how to do something" will always be more focused if business leadership can articulate very clearly what it is that you and your team are trying to do. The internet brings together disciplines across business and technology areas that all bring perspective and expertise to a team. This diverse team will be most effective if the objectives can be clearly articulated early on. If the objective is unclear and the leaders of the effort can't clarify them, then solutions multiply and things get really complicated.