Strategic intent

Strategic intent gives an idea of what the organization desires to attain in future. It answers the question
what the organization strives or stands for? It indicates the long-term market position, which the
organization desires to create or occupy and the opportunity for exploring new possibilities.
In the field of management and organizational development, strategic intent is defined as a compelling
statement about where an organization is going that succinctly conveys a sense of what that
organization wants to achieve in the long term.
*Hamel and Prahalad define strategic intent as an ambitious and compelling dream that energizes, that
provides the emotional and intellectual energy for the journey to the future.
Hamel and prahalad provided the following three attributes of strategic intent:-

 sense of direction- It states that a company must set long term goals and targets which can
guide them into which direction they need to head onto in the long run.
 sense of discovery- This implies that a company must have a competitive advantage and must
possess the potential to seek new discoveries.
 Strategic intent can provide a sense of destiny, a worthwhile goal around which energies can be
focused across the organization.
The basic essence behind Strategic Intent lies in having a competitive advantage. An organization has to
keep enhancing its existing skills and knowledge and needs to learn new ones to keep its organization at
its strong competitive advantage.

Strategic intent also differs from vision because vision is defined by sets of desired goals. Strategic
intent is not limited by the resources and the viability of the desired goals this making it different
(Manterre and Sillince 2007).
strategic intent is slightly differ from the concept of vision, as vision is a broader concept. Strategic
intent is a phenomenon diffused at multiple organizational levels while the vision is more clearly a top
management leadership tool.
A vision is the potential to view things ahead of themselves. It answers the question “where we want to
be”. It gives us a reminder about what we attempt to develop. A vision statement is for the organization
and it’s members, unlike the mission statement which is for the customers/clients. It contributes in
effective decision making as well as effective business planning. It incorporates a shared understanding
about the nature and aim of the organization and utilizes this understanding to direct and guide the
organization towards a better purpose. It describes that on achieving the mission, how the
organizational future would appear to be.
An effective vision statement must have following features-
a. It must be unambiguous.
b. It must be clear.
c. It must harmonize with organization’s culture and values.
d. The dreams and aspirations must be rational/realistic.
e. Vision statements should be shorter so that they are easier to memorize.