Why Vision Matters

On his fourth day in office as Prime Minister, Winston Churchill stood before the House of Commons to ask for a vote of confidence in the new government.  He moved, "That this House welcomes the formation of a Government representing the united and inflexible resolve to the nation to prosecute the war with Germany to a victorious conclusion."  

The speech lasted little more than five minutes.  Aware of the brevity, Churchill noted that  "we are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history…I hope I may be pardoned if I do not address the House at any length today."

Yet in that brief speech he dedicated time to laying out the vision for the new government.

You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. 

The UK had been at war for nine months.  Its war aims remained ambiguous under the previous government.  Now, Churchill brought the war aims into focus. 

His brevity served his purpose.  An expedition into the British war production or inflexible terms required for victory would have muddled his message.  The vision did not have to be detailed but it did need to be clear. 

By defining success, Churchill seized the opportunity to focus national attention during his first speech as Prime Minister.  Though "[m]any, many long months of struggle and suffering" lay ahead, Churchill set the course of the Government for the course of the war.  That vision was a necessary, thought not sufficient, condition for his aim of victory.