See Your Own Vision Statement

Every firm needs a statement of its vision. A vision statement can be a unifying and motivating force for all team members – those who are part of the organization today and those who join in the months and years to come. If they are exposed to a bold and exciting statement of the firm’s vision when they commence it can become part of their personal goals as well.

A vision statement isn’t about numbers or statistics. The metrics of the firm are important but more about milestones than the end of the journey. Besides, numbers aren’t stimulating.

Think of a vision statement as defining where the firm will be at a time in the future — what it will be like and how others will see it. Five years in the future is a good time to start with, far enough away to be an unknown quantity yet near enough to be confident that it can be the result of planning that begins today.

A great firm is a vision statement that has been realized. Look at the great companies of today and see them as achievements that have been deliberately created over a period of time. Greatness doesn’t simply happen; it’s defined by leaders that guide others who work to achieve it.

Originally a vision statement was a comprehensive description of the state and functions of an organization once it had implemented the strategic plan. It was meant to be a very attractive image toward which the business was guided by the strategic plan.

In recent times the vision statement has tended to become more of a motivational tool, often venturing away from reality and towards unrealistic goals that will never be achieved.To be valuable to the organization the vision statement must be both achievable and inspirational.

There are no hard and fast rules about vision statements, either what they should contain or how they should be developed. It’s up to the firm to create its own vision statement, whether there’s a team of two or twenty.

A vision is a great subject for brainstorming. It can draw on the imaginations and intuitions of many people, providing they all share similar interests in the organization and have sufficient knowledge to project it into a future five years away and more.

The vision statement is a collaborative and collective summation of the firm’s dreams and aspirations. It assumes that the people, the leadership and the energy will all be there to build something greater than that which exists today.

Have a brainstorming session and take copious notes of all that’s said. Talk about the shared values of the organization. What can be accomplished in the future? What would the firm like to become?

These are the kinds of questions that need to be asked during the preparation of a vision statement. They’re only a sample but illustrate how broad and wide the consideration given to each area has to be:

– What is good about the firm now that can be great in five years?

– What will the marketplace look like five years from now?

– What operational changes will happen over the next five years?

– Who will be the clients in five years?

– How will exceptional client satisfaction be created in five years?

– How will the firm communicate with the world in five years?

– How will the firm grow in the next five years?

– What will be the culture of the firm in five years?

– What is unique about the firm now that will help it stand out in five years?

The notes from this brainstorming suggestion are a lot like a gold mine. The vision statement is in there, but it has to be mined and refined before it eventually acquires its true value. This mining and refining is the responsibility of the leader of the organization — the person responsible for guiding the business towards its vision.

All comments made by the “visionaries” need to be reviewed, organized, and used by the leader to create the final vision statement. There’s no outline to follow – just let the vision statement emerge from the notes and allow inspiration to guide the final wording.

How long should it be? Once again, there are no limits. For an example of a well thought out and clearly-written vision statement look at eHam.net’s, and even if you’re not involved with amateur radio you’ll immediately understand what this group wants to become:

To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet. A “portal” that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of what’s happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site.

This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something that everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part of.

This was written in October, 1999. Five years later eHam.net is still going strong. Perhaps that’s because five years later the original vision statement is still proudly displayed on their website.

Without a defined vision a firm is just going from day to day and not heading in any particular direction. Success in the future begins with a vision statement today.

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Copyright 2004, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.