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Vision Statement

Disciplines > Leadership > Strategy > Vision Statement

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

A vision, in a business and leadership context, is:

A motivating view of the future.

To be motivating, it must be memorable and appealing. To be memorable, it must be short. To be appealing to its target audience, it must trigger emotions and address needs and goals.

The vision is typically focused on the medium to long term. It may well have a limited focus but can also be about the whole business.

The purpose of the vision is to give direction rather than define specific, measurable objectives. It should be aspirational and challenging, not easy and humdrum. It should prompt creative new thinking rather than same-as-usual and follow-the-competitor. It may indicate new product and markets rather than just current products and customers.

Example

Customers instantly understand our products (no need for manuals or training).

A product in every household.

100% recyclable.

Relaxing motoring.

Discussion

Many company visions are neither motivating nor give a particularly clear view of the desired future. Common traps include:

• Long paragraphs that are difficult to remember.
• Vague 'all things to all people' statements.
• 'World domination' or 'best in the world' statements.
• Jargon that confuses.
• Focusing on financial or growth metrics.
• Including specific objectives.

Often the cause of this is lack of vision on the part of the people writing it. For impact, visions are often best driven by one leader rather than being constructed by a committee where everyone gets to add elements that serve their own needs.

'Be the best' visions are very common, and are perhaps valid for market leaders. Yet who does not want to be the best? The key questions to ask if you want to use this are 'It it feasible to be the best?' and 'Does this vision really motivate people?' When your vision looks the same as everyone else's, perhaps a bit more innovative thinking is needed.

Visions may be achievable, in which case when they are achieved a new vision is needed, or they may be aspirational, in which case they may never be met. Extreme position visions such as 'zero errors' and '100% satisfaction' may never be met, but, like 'be the best' are valid only as long as they are effective in motivating and creating change that moves things towards the vision.

Another trap is for the vision statement to be more of a specific objective than an open vision that stimulates innovation. Any vision that talks in extremes such as '100% satisfaction' creates a very specific focus. This may act as a narrowing directive more than an open challenge. As ever, the test is in the real motivation and action that is created by the vision.

A typical vision describes important outcomes and benefits for customers in strongly sensory terms. Visions may also describe such as product development and company growth, but care should be taken that it really does act to motivate as it is intended. A vision about profits may excite investors but it does little for customers or employees.

The vision should be both generally motivational and also shape both strategic and everyday decisions. For example a vision of excellent customer service may lead to a strategic decision to in-source customer service and also be used to guide daily decisions about how to respond to customer complaints.

To keep the vision brief, it can be helpful to add some explanatory paragraphs, though do beware of this turning into a plan and becoming excessively directive. One of the powerful aspects of a vision statement is that it is loose enough to give plenty of scope for creatively planning alternative ways of achieving it.

A useful technique is to write the vision in the present tense. This can bring the idea home, making it more immediate and visceral. Visions that say 'we will...' can always seem to be safely in the distant future.

Long-term company decisions typically focus five to ten years out, though in a rapidly changing market, a shorter focus may be more appropriate. Visions for departments or projects may be used to envisage shorter-term and quite specific outcomes.

The general visioning process is to create the vision and then sell it. It has been said that the way to success is to 'live the vision', acting consistently as if the vision is true.

A good test of whether a vision statement is being effective is to randomly ask people in the organization to describe the vision. If the only place the vision is found is in the strategic plan, it is not working. It should spread everywhere, on notice boards, in management discussions and in employee training and handbooks. It is also a good question in performance management, whether a person's objectives and actions are leading towards achieving the vision.

'Visions' can also include sounds or other sensory elements. For example one company's vision described responding to customer requests 'just like that', with a snap of fingers.

See also

Vision Statement Checklist