Some of you may be familiar with Disney’s vision statement, which is “to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information,” but creating your own business vision statement can be a daunting task.
However, when you are willing to do the hard work, you will be rewarded with a vision statement that encapsulates the core ideas that give your business its shape and direction and provide a roadmap for your success.
In today’s blog post, I will share how to create a well-written vision statement in 7 steps, and it´s benefits.
Overview
- ⇒ Why do you need a vision statement?
- ⇒ What are the benefits of a vision statement?
- ⇒ How to create a well-written vision statement:
- ⇒ Part 1: Who is responsible for crafting the vision statement?
- ⇒ Part 2: The 7-step process for creating a vision statement
- ⇒ Why your vision statement alone isn’t enough
- ⇒ Summery
Why do you need a vision statement?
You may think that creating a vision statement is a waste of time, and you may be right if you don’t use it properly. At the end of this post, you will find more information about the proper use of a vision statement so that you gain the full benefits: “Why your vision statement alone is not enough.”
However, from my own experience (which I shared in my last blog post) I can assure you that the benefits far outweigh the time spent creating a vision statement. I know how easy it is to get bogged down on the day-to-day details of running a business, and a vision statement will help you to stay on track with your goals and be rewarded financially.
What are the benefits of a vision statement?
A few tangible financial benefits of utilizing a vision statement are:
- You will have a strategic plan for your business, which inspires greater employee engagement, higher achievement, and increased productivity.
- You will attract outside talent because employees like to work for a company that has clear goals and a long-term vision.
- It differentiates your company from the competition and enables you to market your business better so you attract more of your ideal customers.
- It helps your company focus on the necessary core competencies to achieve its goals.
How to create a well-written vision statement:
⇒ Part 1: Who is responsible for crafting the vision statement?
Before you start writing your vision statement, you need to determine who will play a role in creating it. For example, you could develop a vision statement through a series of brainstorming sessions with key stakeholders of your company, create teams to draft alternate versions of the vision statement, and then meet to give each other feedback.
⇒ Part 2: The 7-step process for creating a vision statement
Your vision statement needs to be passionate, inspiring, exciting, motivating and focus on success, as well as align with your business values and goals and be written in the present tense.
Although I’ve listed a few sample questions here to give you an idea of what you might ask for each step, the entire process of creating a vision statement is usually more in-depth and requires clarity about your mission and core values.
For more information, download my free Vision & Mission Statement Guide on my website. It contains more detailed questions and examples to help guide your process. Although there is a difference between a vision and mission statement, in the end they influence each other.
Step 1: The purpose & imagined future of your business
- What is the purpose and objective of your business?
- What does the future of your company look like? Imagine a future in which your business is doing well.
Step 2: Define success
- What does success look like for your business?
- Be clear and define what success is for you.
Step 3: Structure of your company
- What structure does your company have?
- How do you want your company to look?
- Is your company local, national or international?
Step 4: Establish a stable vision within a set timeline
- When do you want to achieve your vision? What is your timeline? Ideally, the vision statement should project at least five to ten years in the future.
- Stabilize your vision by describing a long-term goal that should not be affected by the market or technological changes.
Step 5: Be clear & concise
- Your focus should be on one primary goal, rather than trying to fill the document with a lot of ideas or fluff statements.
- Your statement should be simple and easy to memorize, to read, and repeated accurately by your employees.
Step 6: Inspiring & challenging objectives
- What are some challenging objectives you would like to achieve in the next 5 to 10 years?
- How can you make sure your objectives are inspiring, exciting, motivating and focus on success, as well as align with your business values and goals?
Step 7: Communicate your vision statement
- How will your company communicate its vision statement to your customers and employees?
Why your vision statement alone isn’t enough
While an important step, creating a vision statement isn’t sufficient for long-term success. The question is how to use your vision statement and draw value from it.
For example, you could:
- ⇒ Use it to inspire your employees so they play an active role in implementing your strategy.
- ⇒ Share it as an internal communications tool to help align and inspire your team, employees, stakeholders to reach your company’s goals.
- ⇒ Ask for and receive feedback. This helps the buy-in and alignment process.
- ⇒ Break the vision down into manageable action items.
- ⇒ Implement a framework to help track progress in achieving key aspects of your vision.
Summery
- Key Point #1: You will have a strategic plan for your business.
- Key Point #2: It differentiates your company from the competition.
- Key Point #3: The 7-steps for creating a vision statement are:
- Step 1: The purpose & imagined future of your business
- Step 2: Define success
- Step 3: Structure of your company
- Step 4: Establish a stable vision within a set timeline
- Step 5: Be clear & concise
- Step 6: Inspiring & challenging objectives
- Step 7: Communicate your vision statement
Supporting your vision
If you would like support in creating your own vision statement, you can schedule a free initial consultation here: https://bit.ly/2CUPJ1x I look forward to supporting you in your success.
Coming up next month…
In my next blog post, I will show you how to write a mission statement and how that is different from a vision statement.
Stay tuned!
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