If you look at modern HR opinions out there today, many will tell you that an organisation’s Vision Statement has become meaningless. Although I am one to do away with most relics of HR’s past: manual paperwork, mandated office hours, or tracked time-off, one thing I do believe is that every successful company needs Vision Statement (Vision).
Visions have gotten a bad rap over time due to companies making two common mistakes. They either: 1) create a bad Vision, usually, a generic statement that attempts to mean everything and consequently means nothing or 2) they never truly implement their Vision, which gets rolled out at a companywide meeting and then never spoken about again. However, if you have a clear and specific Vision that influences your long-term strategy, then a Vision becomes one of the most important strategies your company can have.
As Jeff Bezos of Amazon states, “It helps to base your strategy on things that won’t change… because you can really spin up flywheels around those things. All the energy you invest in them today will still be paying you dividends ten years from now.” When done right, a Vision allows you to expend your energy into where it matters most.
What Is A Vision?
Essentially, a Vision is one or two sentences that state your purpose or reason for being. There are other elements that may be included in a Vision, such as: what you do, who you serve, where you are going, and what you value.
A good Vision is fundamentally changeless, becoming the basis for all business decisions. It clarifies for your team the organisation’s long-term “why”, consequently empowering your team to create effective and relevant priorities. For example, “We’re In Business To Save Our Home Planet” is Patagonia’s Vision. For years, this Vision has impacted every aspect of Patagonia including product materials, packaging, and infrastructure management. And with Chouinard’s recent move that made planet earth its only stakeholder, it’s obvious to see how the trajectory of a company is defined by its Vision.
Some schools of thought differentiate between a Vision and a Mission, specifying that a Vision is where the company is going and a Mission is why the company exists. For startups where simple is best, I believe solely having a Vision suffices as it often encapsulates both aspects.
What A Meaningful Vision Can Do For Your Organisation
As a startup, your ever-growing team is still establishing its place in the market. This phase of figuring-it-out leads to seemingly every quarter adopting a new company direction or initiative. Having a Vision can narrow company direction, diminishing the quarter-to-quarter whiplash that is often felt by Founders. This does not mean the business cannot adapt, it simply means that all changes intelligently pivot around the central axis of the Vision.
A Vision can create a more engaged team. According to a study by Imperative, an individual is 54% more likely to stay at a company for over five years if that company is purpose-driven. A Vision’s positive impact on engagement can be seen at the consumer level as well. Consumers are looking to spend their dollars on more than just a product, they want a purpose. A study done by Zeno Group found that someone is four times more likely to purchase from a purpose-driven company than one that is not.
Common Vision Mishaps
If you have created a sound Vision Statement that uniquely defines your purpose, you aren’t quite out of the woods yet, as the most common pitfall that organisations make happen after the Vision is created.
If a Vision isn’t supported with strategic implementation, then the Vision becomes nothing more than an inspiring statement. Once created, it is important to define annual strategic initiatives that put the Vision into action. Take the Australian-based toilet paper company, Who Gives A Crap, whose Vision is: “to ensure everyone has access to clean water and a toilet within our lifetime.” They support this Vision by donating 50% of their profits to charity partners that are doing just that, giving over $11M to the cause to date.
Many well-intentioned companies roll out their Vision with a company-wide meeting with great fanfare, then never speak of the Vision again, effectively turning the Vision into an empty promise. For a Vision to truly impact your organisation, it needs to become more than just a t-shirt slogan. To be a true touchstone within your organisation, a Vision needs to infiltrate all aspects of your organisation including: recruiting, onboarding, team meetings, annual planning, and company-wide communication strategy.
Make The Vision Your Winning Strategy
With change being the only constant in startup life, a Vision Statement can anchor an organisation to success because it defines success. When created and implemented effectively, an organisation’s Vision is a powerful and guaranteed investment.
Want to learn more about my approach to creating and implementing a powerful Vision? Reach out and let’s chat.