Whether you’re just starting a new business or you’ve had or been a part of one for a long time, you’ve most likely run across the term vision statement. Mission statement and values are probably words you’ve hear, too, but for today we’ll focus on the vision. As a broad term, this can feel too vague to pin down. Under pressure, there’s a good change that you will/did land on something that sounded great and allowed you to check it off the list. Over time, it got buried beneath a pile of corporate jargon and policies. Now it’s more like that creepy basement—you try very hard to avoid it, but sometimes you have to go down there to flip the breaker or unpack your Christmas decorations.
What if your vision statement could be something more than that, though?
What is a vision statement?
To compare it to your mission statement, the mission is what you do and your vision is what you see or want to see. What do you want to see for your organization as you continue the work that you do? How will your mission help you get there? What are the pieces of the bridge that will help you get from mission to vision?
Let’s go one step further even. What’s the best outcome you can possibly see for the world? Something that you probably won’t achieve, but if you had it your way you would? That’s what we call the elevated vision. The most important piece is that you don’t see this vision for yourself, but for the community and culture in which your business is serving. When you work to uplift the world around you, the world will naturally uplift you.
Obviously, we’re never going to see a perfect world. But does that mean we stop trying to get there and start serving ourselves instead? That’s a question that you need to answer for yourself, but our answer is a resounding, “no.”
Why have a vision statement?
If you can’t see where you’re going to go, will you ever really get anywhere? The work that you do every single day for your entire working life should mean something, especially if it’s your organization or an organization you’ve invested in. If it’s just about making as much money as you can, are you really achieving anything? Having a meaningful vision will help you and those who’ve invested in you create something more impactful than just profits.
Furthermore, customers want to work with someone who actually cares about their wellbeing. Are you interested in giving your money to someone who only cares about your money? Or are you going to invest in someone who actually cares about using your money to help you meet your goals, whatever they may be? A meaningful vision statement will not only remind you to care about the larger picture but it will invite others to become champions of your brand and not just means to an end.
Tips for writing a vision statement
If you’re still with us, then you wish to have one of these elevated vision statements that we keep mentioning. You want to be a company that has an impact, cares more about the bottom line, and successfully showcases that to their audience. You don’t want to be derailed from that ultimate vision by daily obstacles and other struggles that might make you default to the self.
To get started, as we mentioned before, you must start with your mission. What is it that you are truly doing? It shouldn’t be a laundry list of services that you offer, but at the very core of your business, what are you doing every day? Once you have that one-liner that defines your company, you can work toward your vision. At each step, ask yourself, “why?” or, “so what?” Why is that your vision? Why is that the answer to that question? Keep asking yourself why until you finally land at an elevated place that you can see for the future of your company and your community or even the world.
Where to go from here
Maybe this blog was enough to get you to your elevated vision. However, if you’re wanting more insight into these concepts as well as help defining them, then connect with us! We’re working on formalizing an online course that will help you define your mission, uncover your vision, and conceptualize the obstacles and values you find along the way. Interested in an in-person workshop now? We do those, too!
Contact us to get started!