Mornington Crescent

Mornington Crescent is both a tube station on the London Underground and was a panel game on BBC Radio 4 show "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" (no longer running) that satirises panel games.

In the game that was, players take turns naming London landmarks or tube stations with the aim of being the first to get to "Mornington Crescent". It appears to be highly strategic, with panel members arguing the rules and the legality of each other's moves and remarking on the astuteness of a player's tactics. But there are no rules and no point to the game beyond being absurd and to make people laugh. 

Organisations play their version of Mornington Crescent, with strategies that are not clear and shared. It makes the decisions and the actions of leadership seem incomprehensible and absurd. 

Here are a couple of likely scenarios regarding the strategy at your workplace - or at least one you have worked in.

> Ask someone in the executive what the strategic plan is, and they will reach for a 94-page document with tables, charts and goals. They probably won't be able to tell you succinctly and meaningfully.

> Ask someone in the frontline, and they won't know they have one, where they would find it if it did exist, and how it makes a difference to what they do.

Where values are choosing how you act, your strategy is like values for choosing and using your stuff in the best way possible. It's your guide to how your organisation will make decisions and allocate resources to achieve your goals.

When you can share the story of your vision, your strategy and your values and show everybody, everywhere in the organisation, how it shapes what they do every day, it makes your workplace better for your people and your business.

Don't make people guess how the organisation is getting to Mornington Crescent. Show them the path and the reasons for taking this one so they come aboard. Otherwise, when thinking about why things happen the way they do, their only response will be, "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue".