What is a Vision Statement?

A vision statement describes what you envision the future of your organisation to be.

A strategic vision is the aspirations that the owners / senior decision makers have for their organisation.  As such, it paints a picture of the future which should be communicates to all stakeholders in an inspirational manner.

Since the strategic vision is outside the normal planning window, there is no need to have a clear understanding of how to achieve it. Rather, it should serve as a destination that ensures the organisation is always heading in the correct direction.

A carefully crafted vision statement will communicate your aspirations for the organisation to people in a clear and memorable way, giving them a sense of clear direction and focus.  It should inspire your people to think beyond their day-to-day activities and to understand how they can help the organisation to move from where it is to where you want it to be.  This will help to motivate them to concentrate their efforts on activities that will help the organisation attain its vision.  It will also serve as a filter for making important decisions, ensuring that everyone is pulling in the same direction.

The strategic vision should remain consistent through the entire organisation.  This means that while different parts of an organisation may have their own goals, they should all be linked to and focused on achieving the overarching vision of the organisation as whole.

An inspiring vision statement should have thee key characteristics:

1)  It needs to state where the company wants to be in the distant future,

2) It must be aligned with the organisation’s purpose, and

3)  It must inspire excitement and motivation within the organisation

Finally, a vision statement should be reviewed on a regular basis (usually annually) in order to ensure it is still relevant in terms of the organisation’s purpose as well as the internal and external environment and with the way you envision the future of the organisation.