Does the vision statement that answers the question of your business’ existential purpose include this
significant point?
When we have to go for a journey, what do we decide first – the vehicle to travel or the place to go? If the place to go is decided first, then the right vehicle to travel, a suitable path to take and necessary expenses could also be calculated. This is exactly how a business should also be done. Those trades that sell the products in demand in the market now and make money without a long term goal have more chances of facing a crisis in the future. This is because when business is done with the aim of making money alone, one’s focus will fall only onto money and it affects the progress of the organization considerably. That is, the real growth of business lies not in the profits earned, but in the position of our business in the people’s minds. Profit is a byproduct. Taking into account, any of the world’s successful organizations of the present times, it could be inferred that they did not start their business aiming at money-making, but aiming at the problem. Business is the solution to the problems faced by the people. It could be enunciated that every product was created with the aim of making our lives easy. When I was writing this, I had a cup of coffee on my table. The shape of the cup was ideally suited to drink the coffee easily, that is, a cup is a product that had been made to ease my action of drinking coffee. Every business is a solution to one or the other problem of the consumers.
WHAT TYPE OF BUSINESS MOVEMENT IS YOURS?
Every step we move in a business should reduce the distance to our aim. For that, the first priority must be to have a good goal. This goal should be stated clearly in words where every single word is to be used with utmost care. It can be called mission and vision.
- Where is the business heading towards?
- What is its existential purpose?
The vision statement is the answer to those questions. Vision statements must always be targeted at people’s needs and their needs ground on emotional footings every time. Therefore vision statements must also have an emotional degree in them.
A bad vision statement:
“As a reliable partner for our customers, we count on innovation, creativity and consistent customer focus as well as on top performance in all areas.”
In this vision, there is nothing that makes a business distinct. The aim of every business is to serve the customers. What innovation can one find in it? Also, the goals of every business are innovation, creativity and top performance. This should not be the ultimate goal. These are only the things that are required for the existence of a business over time.
Another example of such a bad vision statement:
“We will be No. 1 in our industry and strive for double-digit sales and profit growth over the next 5 years.”
This target may make investors happy. But this can never be a guide to the progress of a business. As told earlier, there is no emotional level of approach in it. Only financial standards are met.
How should a good vision be?
Here’s an example – the vision of Microsoft in 1970:
“Our vision is a computer on every desktop and in every home.”
The idea is very simple, that is, a computer in every home. They were successful in achieving their goal.
Let us go through another good vision statement:
“Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.”
This statement means to provide knowledge for free to everyone in this world. This is the vision statement of Wikipedia. The best visions will always be related to emotions. If vision is an organization’s ultimate aim, then the mission is the route to it.
- Who are we?
- Whom are we serving?
- What is the problem for which we are providing a solution?
- What change are we making?
A mission statement is an answer to those questions. Some good mission statements are:
Honest Tea: “To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.”
Google: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
LinkedIn: “The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”
Once the goals are met, sometimes a new vision statement and mission statement are made. Some organisations combine their vision and mission and together state their aim as the mission statement. Whether the business is a small scale or large scale one, it is inevitable to have an aim. That aim is to lead the organisation ahead.