50+ Sample Vision Statements

What Is A Vision Statement?

Have you ever asked yourself on what you are trying to put together and build whenever you deal with your business operations? It is important for you to have a perspective of where you would like your organization to be so you can see the bigger picture of your operational activities. This is one of the main reasons why a vision statement needs to be developed. Do you know that 39% of employees in the United Kingdom actually want to become more involved when it comes to vision and values contribution (source: forbes)? Before you begin the development of your company’s vision statement, you first have to make sure what a vision statement is all about.

A vision statement is a simple and straightforward document that is used by organizations to provide an idea about its objectives. The specific document is created to ensure that a company or an establishment is well-guided when making decisions that are relevant, aligned to their goals, and considerate of their business values and philosophy. The vision statement of your organization should be changed when necessary. Do not be afraid to revise your vision statement especially in cases when you have already achieved your initial vision for the business. Continuously reviewing your vision statement can enable you to know whether your organization is productive and efficient enough that it can reach its long-term objectives and goals.

Purpose of a Vision Statement

Are you aware of the specific reasons on why you are developing a vision statement? You have to give importance to this subject matter as the purpose of creating a vision statement can lead you to the development of a document that can surely work for your advantage. Here are some of the purposes of having a vision statement:

1. To Ensure That the Strategic Plan of the Organization Has a Strong Foundation

Before you come up with the action plans of your business, it is necessary for you to first have a vision statement. Coming up with an idea of your desired future conditions can help you set all of your actions strategically. Your vision statement can enable you to know why you have to do certain actions or why you need to implement several tactics since you already have a clear idea of your objectives.

2. To Guide the Company When Selecting Which Opportunities to Take

Whenever you are making your organization’s vision statement, you have to think of ways on how it can direct your stakeholders to better good. A vision statement is mainly developed so you can set good opportunities from the ones that will not truly benefit your business. Taking opportunities that can help advance the vision of the organization for itself can be easier if you have a vision statement to begin with.

3. To Remind the Organization of What It Would Like to Achieve

With the ever-changing trends and market activities in different industries, it can sometimes be too much for some organizations that they lose footing not only of who they are but also of what they would like to be. Having a clear vision statement can help businesses be reminded of their objectives and goals. If you will have a vision statement, you can easily track if you are still directed to where you want to lead the business.

Qualities of an Outstanding Vision Statement

A vision statement should not be poorly-made if you want to benefit from it. Hence, it is essential for you to give your focus and efforts while trying to put all the elements of your vision statement together. Aside from this, you also have to ensure that you can observe a number of characteristics that reflect the high-usability and overall quality of your vision statement. Here are some of the most important qualities that your vision statement is expected to have:

Challenging: You should not be timid and doubtful when it comes to the development of your vision statement. Allow your vision statement to be challenging so you can fuel the drive of the organization. When setting a challenging vision statement, you should make sure that what you would like to achieve is realistic but will also take the fullest efforts of your team members and other stakeholders before it materializes.Inspiring: For your workforce to be motivated, it is necessary for your vision statement to be inspiring. You have to always remind your workforce that what they are currently doing is a part of a bigger purpose. Explaining an inspiring vision statement to your employees can enable them to further appreciate their contributions during daily work operations.Well-Written: Even if a vision statement is usually a one-liner, it is still necessary for you to write it in the best way possible. Be tactical when making your vision statement so you can make it interesting, presentable, believable, and informative.Abstract: Know your strategic direction when making a vision statement. The specific document should be abstract or general as this can help your statement scope and define the major interests that your organization values.

7 Steps for Developing a Strong Vision Statement

Businesses have their own ways of making a vision statement. However, there are certain specifications that you should not overlook whenever you plan to make your own vision statement. If you are new to the processes of making a vision statement, it will be great if you can first stick to the basics before exploring more complex options. Here is a simple step-by-step process that you can refer to so you can also develop a strong vision statement for your organization:

Step 1: Download an Existing Vision Statement Sample and Other Relevant References

There are no standard and pre-formatted templates that can guide you towards the development of the best vision statement. However, there are different references that can help you a lot when it comes to crafting your own vision statement. We recommend you to download vision statement samples especially those that are used by businesses that have the same nature of operations with your organization. Learning what other businesses would like to achieve in the long run can help you examine your goals for your company.

Step 2: Know the Core of Your Business Operations

Know and define the nature of your work processes. Present the output that you can share to your target audience. It is important for you to have a clear idea of what your organization does so you can be focused when it comes to identifying where your actions are leading you to.

Step 3: Have a Unique Business Proposition

How is your business different from other entities that offer the same products and/or services? What are the characteristics that set your output apart from your competitors? You need to describe the uniqueness of your outcome so you can answer these questions and the relevant others. Once this subject is already identified, you can then quantify your statement’s specifications. With this,it is recommended for you to list down your purpose as an organization.

Step 4: Have a Projection of Your Future Business Operations

The time frame for a vision’s realization is different from business to business. Think of where you would like to be five to ten years from now. When setting or projecting the possible time of your vision’s realization,  identify all of the measurable goals which you think you can realize in a timely manner. Do not be too strict or particular with your projection as you can always adjust it based on internal and external variables that can potentially impact your operations in the future.

Step 5: Add Aspect That Your Target Audience Can Relate To

Your vision statement must consider human connections. Allow your vision statement to have aspects that are real and can be easily identified by your stakeholders. Be reminded that you have to set the definition of success to your organization so you can still look into the structure and abilities of your company while allowing your target audience to relate to your vision statement.

Step 6: Craft a Well-Rounded Statement About Your Vision

With all of the considerations that you have looked into, begin the crafting of your actual vision statement. Set a meeting with several stakeholders whose inputs are necessary for the finalization of the vision statement. Make sure that your vision statement can truly encapsulate how you envision your business to be in the future.

Step 7: Refine the Vision Statement That You Have Developed

Polish your vision statement so it can provide a lasting impact whenever any of your stakeholders look into it. Look for grammatical errors and other lapses that can negatively affect the vision statement so you can still change these items before presenting your vision statement.

Advantages of Having an Effective Vision Statement

A vision statement is purposefully developed to make sure that an organization can benefit from it. Knowing how a vision statement can impact your business, your operations, and your stakeholder relationships can give you more push when it comes to ensuring its quality and way of presentation. Do you want to to know how you can optimize the availability of your organization’s vision statement? Below are the advantages of having an effective vision statement.

A vision statement serves as the representation or picture of your organization in the future: If you have a clear idea of where you would like to be, it will be easier for you to make action plans that can enable you to reach your goals and be in the position where you aspire to be at. Having a vision statement can let you be reminded of how you see your business in the years to come. A vision statement can help the employees of the business focus on what can contribute to organizational growth: With a vision statement available, your workforce can identify the ways on how their deliverable can add value to the organization and the realization of its goals. Your vision statement can make it easier for the people working for you to measure their productivity especially if they believe that their performance can truly impact your organization’s better good.A vision statement can enable the business to separate itself from its competition: If you want to brand your business in a more precise and concise manner, your vision statement can help you with this. Aside from your marketing and branding efforts, your vision statement can enable you to stand out in a sea of competitors since it presents not only your current conditions but what your stakeholders can expect from you in the future as well.A vision statement allows the management and all your other stakeholders be inspired to work for a common goal: If people are knowledgeable of your potential state of operational conditions, it can let them think of ways on how they can contribute to your growth through their deliverable. Your vision statement can be an inspiration that entities involved in your operations can look into whenever they want to align their efforts with your company’s strategic plan and envisioned future.

Dos and Don’ts for Creating an Excellent Vision Statement

Some people tend to be anxious or intimidated when making a vision statement. This may happen if the entities assigned to make the vision statement are unaware of the things that they must look into so they can come up with an achievable and realistic foundation document for the organization. With this, we have listed several things that you should do and should not do so you can become more familiar of the strategies that can make it more efficient for you to come up with an effective vision statement. Some of the guidelines that you can follow so you can create an excellent vision statement are listed below.

Do’s

1. Do Develop a Realistic Vision Statement

When making a vision statement, it is important for you to consider your aspirations and dreams for your organization. You need to have high hopes for the company while still being grounded and realistic. Make sure that your vision statement is attainable and measurable. Being able to do so can help you be more motivated when it comes to achieving your objectives and executing your strategic call-to-actions which can all lead you to the realization of your vision.

2. Do Make Your Vision Statement Short and Simple

It is essential for your vision statement to be brief but understandable, comprehensive, and details. Do not include any unnecessary words and irrelevant information that can only confuse your target audience with your statement. Making your vision statement precise and direct to the point can help you provide the exact and clear interpretation of how you would like your business to be  in the future.

3. Do Ensure That the Vision Statement That You Will Make is Specific To Your Organization 

There is nothing wrong with taking inspiration from the vision statement of other organizations while crafting your own vision statement. However, make sure that you will only use the vision statement of other entities as guides or references. It is important for your vision statement to be original and suitable to your business and its operations. Identify the alignment and relevance of your vision with your own goals, mission, values, and objectives.

Don’ts

1. Don’t Think That a Vision Statement Is an Assurance of Your Business’ Successes

Your vision statement should not be treated as a road map to success. This simply means that you should not make your vision statement seem like a step-by-step guide that you can use to strategically be where you would like to be. A vision statement should be a motivator or an inspiration. Create your vision statement based on where you would like to direct or lead your business realistically in consideration of what you can do to achieve your desired state of operations. With this, you have to always remember that your vision statement should not define how you can bridge the gap between your existing and desired conditions.

2. Don’t Make Your Vision Statement Too Ambitious to the Point That It is Already Unattainable

Your vision statement should be ambitious so that it can truly spark the interest and desire of your stakeholders to look forward to the future of your business. However, you should also know your limitations. An achievable vision statement is better when compared to an ideal one which seems like impossible to be realized.

3. Don’t Overlook the Timeliness of Your Vision’s Realization 

Even if the time frame in which the vision of a company is set to be achieved or realized is different from one organization to another, it is still imperative for you to set a time horizon where you can already evaluate your vision and its effectiveness.

Are you now planning to craft the vision statement of your business, establishment, or organization? Utilize the downloadable and printable references that we have listed above. The templates and samples that you can browse through and select from this post can give you an easier, faster, and more efficient time as you try to create the best vision statement which can reflect how you would want your business to be like in the future.