A vision provides a road map for your company, gives it direction and purpose. For some people, their vision of their company is to make millions of dollars, and that’s it. They’re going to make money however they can. If that’s you, I’m not writing this for you. Or if it’s you and you’re interested in a different perspective, read on.  

I believe each of us is destined to fulfill a certain role in life. It’s different for each person, and we are probably only satisfied when we discover our role and are fulfilling that role. There are lots of books and courses one can use to help you on your journey to discovering your purpose. When you align your company’s vision with your personal vision, magic happens. It’s all a matter of perspective and satisfaction. And you can still make millions of dollars. Being clear about your vision for the company and having it aligned with your personal vision virtually eliminates procrastination. Having a powerful vision helps you get past the inevitable stumbling blocks along the way.   

Define What is Important

Defining your vision starts with a question: “What’s important to me/us?” Spend a few minutes contemplating that, then set a timer and write down what comes to mind. The take a minute or so to pull out the top 2-3 important things to you. Build your vision around these most important things while asking this question: “What good do we want to do in the world?”  

Create Your Vision

Make your statement short and descriptive. Include the outcome of your product or service, a unique twist that differentiates you from other companies that do what you do. Don’t forget a quantifier (every/each client/customer), and make sure to add a human connection (this makes it easily imagined.)   Sometimes combining passions becomes your company vision. For instance, at Organize to Excel, we love helping people do their best work in the simplest way possible. We are also passionate about the environment and being good stewards of our planet. Our vision is: “Every client who works with us finds inner peace as life and work is carried out simply and responsibly.”  

Examples

Some examples of different companies’ vision or guiding statements are below:  

  • Anheuser-Busch- Be the world’s beer company. Through all of our products, services, and relationships, we will add to life’s enjoyment.  
  • Dupont: The vision of DuPont is to be the world’s most dynamic science company, creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, and healthier life for people everywhere.    
  • Robert Bosch Corporation: Invented for Life. Enhance the quality of life with solutions that are both innovative and beneficial.   
  • Unilever: The four pillars of our vision set out the long-term direction for the company–where we want to go and how we are going to get there:
    • We work to create a better future every day
    • Unilever helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others
    • We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world
    • Unilever will develop new ways of doing business with the aim of doubling the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact
  •   Volkswagen: Our strategy pursues a clear objective: By 2018 the Volkswagen Group is to be the world’s most successful and fascinating automobile manufacturer- and the leading light when it comes to sustainability