Why You Must Have a Vision
Kent Jacobson, a.k.a. "Mr. Success"

I know ... I know ... I am not telling anyone something new by writing about this topic. Every now and then we all need to be reminded of what we have learned, re-think how it applies to our current situation and implement actions as appropriate. Basically, I just wanted to emphasize the importance of having a vision statement. Having a vision statement for your company, group, team, family or yourself makes common sense because it provides direction on where you want yourself or the group to go. Without a vision, neither you nor anyone in the group knows where they are going or what needs to happen to get there. Your vision statement needs to be to clear and concise.

Vision statements should not be complex nor take too long in developing. The best way to get started is by brainstorming a few key phrases, formulate a sentence or two and think about it for a while. Ask yourself, if I were reading this for the first time, would I get it? If not try again, you will get it. After you create the vision statement, write it down, communicate the message and display with pride. One very effective technique in creating vision statements is to incorporate the use of your company's name and key words such as; we, our and us. Avoid the generalization and soft words such as; transform and create.

In support of the vision statement, many companies develop the supporting mission statement and at times have combined the two. I think keeping the vision and mission statements separate promotes better communication of your message and keeps people focused. The mission statement explains what a company does and supporting attributes distinguishing your company from another. Again keep the mission statement clear and concise when your create one.

Here are two vision statements I like:
Amazon.com: 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.
3M Canada Vision Statement: We will grow by helping our customer's win - through the ingenuity and responsiveness of people who care.

The vision statement facilitates decision making by aligning everyone towards a common purpose. For the decision makers, the power of vision statements supports timelier and less controversial decision discussions. If you are part of a company without a vision statement, I'm sure you have observed the chaos that can be created when different agenda's collide. Even back during biblical times, people realized the power of a vision; refer to Proverbs 29:18 ... without a vision people will perish ...

There are many helpful resources online; a little research may be of assistance to you if creating a vision seems confusing. Put some thought into your vision statement and see the positive results and benefit of having one. May your hopes and dreams turn into reality and success.