When working with clients on Mission and Vision I always start the session by asking “What difference do you make and who should care?” As discussed in my previous article, a well crafted Mission and Vision helps set the course for you and your staff and puts your companies stake in the ground for what you and it stand for and the difference you want to make.

When working on important parts of the business it can be difficult to get it right, and indeed what is right? This week i’ll be looking at what makes a great Vision Statement and what do you have to do for it to mean something that engages people?

Simon Sinek in his fantastic 2009 book “Start With Your Why” stated;

“There are only two ways to influence human behaviour: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.Very few people or companies can clearly articulate why they do what they do. By why I mean your purpose, cause or belief- why does your company exist? Why do you get out of bed every morning? And why should anyone care? People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Below are some great questions to ask yourself when constructing a Company Vision.

• Why do you do what you do?
• What has driven you to start the business you are about to embark on? If it is to “make a difference” who are you making a difference to and for what reason?
• How would people be describing your business?
• In five years time if you were to look back at what you and your business had achieved what would you be celebrating?
• What would have delighted you about your success?

These are a great set of questions to help you create and craft your vision, your reason for existing in business.

A well crafted vision statement sets the course for your success, is a great tool to help you decide on whether you are on track, and will also help you through the tough times when you are just starting. It can also help you recruit the right staff, when used effectively in any interview process, as they will know exactly what you and your business are going to achieve.

Below are some examples of Vision statements that I really like and leave people in no doubt about the purpose of these companies.

• NIKE: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world. *If you have a body, you are an athlete.
• MICROSOFT: Empower people through great software anytime, anyplace, and on any device.
• INSTAGRAM: Capture and Share the World’s Moments.
• GOOGLE: To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
• AMAZON: Our vision is to be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

I often think that if these big companies have a Vision statement then they are well worth investing your time and effort in.

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To your success

Dave Verburg