It's the first day of a brand new year—a point in time ushering in collective feelings of potential, possibility, and motivation to make things happen. I cannot think of a better day than this for this topic.
Let's talk about vision, personally, and as a business:
A year's passing encourages an unusual phenomenon where people embrace change (naturally varying degrees of change aversion are a common factor for the majority.) In some cases, we not only embrace change, but we also go a step further to enact change through resolutions and subsequent behavioral corrections that can address any area of our lives. These resolutions are connected to an envisioned sense of ourselves: what we or our lives could be if we made specific changes to make things happen.
Businesses are no different. Somewhere within the genesis of a company, the founder(s) will declare a vision, where their efforts will seek to make their respective change or 'mark' on the world, creating a reality that would not otherwise be; referred to as a "vision statement."
Vision statements serve businesses in several ways, but their primary value lies in building a higher purpose for employees, communities, investors, and other stakeholders to keep with them as framing and fuel for their work.
Guidelines for a vision statement:
Vision statements should be concise, memorable, and powerful. One lesson that comes to mind was from a grad school instructor discussing log-lines (a summary, usually limited to a single sentence, for a story or content concept).
"For every word added to your log-line, add one million dollars to explain it when marketing it."
- J. Baker
While the cost is not a law, the point is exact: craft with intention.
Vision statements are not realized immediately, akin to chasing a sunset at the end of the horizon; it's about the long-term pursuit. Similar to changing one's life, the benefits of the sacrifices required may not present themselves until after significant repetition. We wouldn't expect one push up to make us superhumanly healthy. Similarly, we cannot expect to realize a vision overnight. If we could realize our vision within a short amount of time, it wasn't challenging enough, which leads to the next point.
Visions are grand. They reside in the imagination of the one (or few) individual(s) who can see it in their mind's eye. It's not tangible. It's a concept that needs to be advocated to gain traction and enthusiasm. It needs to be vast to garner a higher sense of purpose, dedication, and motivation for your stakeholders.
Visions are supported by clear values that show what the leaders and company as a whole are willing to do (and equivocally not do) to make this world real. The best ideas can have both positive and negative impacts on society. As such, the supporting values further clarify the means to reach the respective ends of this vision.
The lesson in this story:
Visions live in us. We 'see' them and work hard to realize them. A very wise professor once told me:
"Meaning is not found; it's made."
- Dr. Andrew Gold
How deeply we connect to a business vision may lie beyond simple professional goals in our employee's minds and hearts.
Visions can live beyond us. Crafting a clear vision and accompanying set of values can proliferate beyond the existence of one person. Do so with care and intent.
Visions inspire us. If nothing else, visions remind us of the power of change. Change we can create. The power of possibility can motivate us to push past any unlikely probability to achieve something greater.
Let's bring a clear, purposeful vision to our lives and our businesses.