The Challenge: To establish a vision for the future that would support both growth and leadership development.

The Solution: To develop and test a vision statement that illuminated the organization’s purpose and guiding values while creating alignment and strategic direction.

The Results: Increased revenue and leadership bench strength that allowed the organization to stay on course with continued growth.

What impact can a clear and compelling mission and vision play in managing hyper growth? Plenty! In 1995, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., (CCi) had 16 locations, 5,000 students, and $30 million in revenue. Today, the organization boasts over 140 locations, more than 70,000 students, 10,000 employees in the United States and Canada, and $1 billion in revenue, making it one of the largest post-secondary education companies in North America.

In the face of this profound growth, the organization faced many challenges: the daunting task of integrating the workforce and operating policies of new acquisitions, developing the necessary infrastructure to deal with growth, and coping with a decentralized workforce while effectively operating under the umbrella of a larger organization.

Additionally, and of even greater concern, was the fact that key leadership was transitioning out of the organization, taking with them vital experience and talent. The new CCi leadership team recognized the importance of looking at the foundation of the organization in order to move forward. Equally important was the need to create alignment that would support the strategic direction, provide a compass for the journey, and solidify the organization as it continued to grow.

While a mission statement had been in existence, the company knew it needed to expand that into a clearly articulated vision and values that would provide direction and ensure future success. CCi set to the task of developing and testing a vision statement that would illuminate the organization’s purpose and its guiding values while creating synergy and strategic direction.

Because of an existing relationship with The Ken Blanchard Companies, CCi again turned to their long-time partner for assistance and chose Blanchard’s Creating Your Organization’s Future: Full Steam Ahead! process as a means to help evolve its vision and values. The kick off included an executive retreat, involving senior leadership and several of the founders in order to clarify the organization’s vision. CCi recognized that the business as a whole, not just Human Resources, should “own” the visioning process. Moreover, they wanted to ensure that the vision would inspire all employees. The focus of the retreat was to define and prioritize their values, to create a robust picture of the future, and to identify business strategies to achieve their vision. From there, they defined and debated obstacles and challenges to achieving the vision and outlined next steps for how the vision would be communicated.

Another integral component was to have each employee create a personal legacy and plan of action while maintaining a team approach to making the vision a reality. The final step was to hardwire the process into the organization by aligning initiatives and processes with the vision, building internal skills and capacity to implement the vision, evaluating progress, and celebrating success.

Overall, CCi believes the process was a huge success and that it is charting its course as planned. In addition, the organization feels that the foundational work achieved with Blanchard created a new, positive, and motivating mission and culture that energizes the entire organization, is supported by each employee, and expresses what Corinthian Colleges does today. They believe that their new vision provides the glue to sustain them through leadership changes and allows them to become vision-led rather than simply leader dependant. More importantly, net revenues have continued to increase. Now more than ever, CCi’s mission “We Change Lives!” rings true.