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Vision Statements (Yes, They Really Matter)

The importance of leadership’s vision in the success of a business can’t be underestimated. If you look at the companies that don’t stay competitive, that end up being marginalized, they have lost sight of the products and services they should be providing, the talent they need to get there, and what their customers want or need. That is, as their business strategies falter, it’s really that they lost their vision and momentum to work towards fulfilling them

Apple, for instance, the classic startup in a visionary’s garage, had an entrepreneurial beginning but when Jobs left in 1985, the company began to flounder without the visionary leadership that got it off the ground. When Jobs came back, we can all look at a device or two within reach of us now that speaks to the power of how a vision–and will to execute on that vision–can impact and turnaround a company.

A vision is not a strategic plan, it’s a foundation of ideology and way of looking at the future that better equips a company to handle smart opportunities and adapt to maintain or grow market share. Forbes has a great article that highlights examples of IBM and HP to show how solid vision statements don’t change even if business and technologies do drastically.

The thing about the best vision statements? They aren’t meant to be hard, or complicated, yet 70% of people don’t know their company’s vision, or feel so unrelated to it in their everyday work that it doesn’t come across as relevant. Yet having a simple and unwavering vision for a company’s future truly differentiates the good from the great and gives a company the framework to be flexible, nimble, proactive, and open in how to approach challenges and find new opportunities.

Take the time to reflect on your organization’s vision as it stands now, it might surprise you how helpful re-focusing on the basics can be as you tackle the complex issues your business undoubtedly faces today.

Image courtesy of Nutadanai Apikhomboonwarout at freedigitialphotos.net.