Jeff Bezos is a perfect example of the power of vision. He once drew a business plan for an online bookstore during a cross-country trip. At the time, nothing suggested that the company he hoped to establish would launch him into the coveted title of the “wealthiest man in the world by 2017.”
Initially, Amazon was designed to cater to the needs of readers. By its fourth year of operation, it had diversified to include the online sale of music and video.Later that year, it introduced a couple of other consumer goods. Jeff was persuaded that the growth of the internet would overtake large book retailers. And he was right to think so.
Amazon’s vision is to “be the 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.” Precise and concise for any layman to understand and run with, Amazon’s vision defines the role of visions in creating sustainable businesses.
What is vision?
A vision is a mental picture of a thing, vivid enough to stir conviction in anyone who beholds it. In the business world, a vision involves, in clear terms, the mental images of a company’s futuristic states. Every solid vision is a testimony to the presence of a visionary leader. Defining or carving a vision often requires a healthy dose of courage, a rooted belief in the potentials housed within the company.
A vision is not a wish or a dream. It is not based on hopeful expectations, isn’t predicated on the influence of the supernatural for it to succeed and work. While a vision in no way eliminates the possibilities of failure or even bankruptcy, a vision doesn’t bank on trials and errors. The peculiarity of any vision statement (a statement containing the vision of an organisation or company) is contained in the personality of the leader, the environment within which the company operates, and the services the company offers.
Before you begin to connect your vision to a sustainable startup, you must be grounded on the essential components of a solid, feasible vision. Remember the catchphrase about goals? Goals must be SMART. Likewise, a vision statement must conform to certain structures. Mummy Ibeji, who operates a canteen by the roadside leading to a bank would not run the business with the same energy and drive as the CEOs of Hard Rock Café would. This is why you would drive by a movie disk seller at a junction and stare at a small television replaying a blockbuster movie but wouldn’t give it a glance. Yet, you wouldn’t hesitate to part with a good sum to watch the same movie at a Genesis cinema – vision.
What Essentially Does Having a Vision Offer Your Company?
1. Influences Your Mission
The mission encompasses the strategies and goals driving a company. Amazon’s mission, reads: “We strive to offer our customers the lowest possible prices, the best available selection, and the utmost convenience.” This includes Amazon’s target audience (customers shopping online), how they will serve them (lowest possible prices & best available section), and their goal (to offer customers these at the utmost convenience). The vision is the compass that guides how your startup’s mission is structured. If the former doesn’t fly, the latter remains grounded.
2. Guides the Workforce
To borrow a leaf from the Bible, your vision is the fuel that carries your employee running, “…that he may run that reads it.” Your company can build an organisational culture when the vision is done well. It provides clarity for anyone willing to engage it, ensuring that the right crop of like-minded individuals is attracted to the company as staff.
3. Informs of Core Values
Customers trust a startup that possesses its working principles and values. Your small business could operate out of a six-man office yet attract clients of the highest standards. Likewise, your vision defines the core reasons for which your company exists, opening collaborators to a deep understanding of not just where you are headed, but also why some present decisions are being made.
4. Can Be a Roadmap for Executing Projects
Are you at crossroads, needing to make a decision but stressed on what direction to go? Enters your vision. Your vision, when rightly defined, can serve as a guide when your team needs to execute projects or expand sections of the company. Suppose Amazon was looking at expanding services offered, a glance at the part of their vision which says “…anything they might want to buy online,” is clear enough to inform the direction of their expansion.
How to write/rework your vision
Do you have a vision written for your company? Great. Does it possess enough clarity to guide anyone who reads it? Or are you running a startup that isn’t built on a vision? Then you should consider a rewriting. Here are some need-to-knows as you write/rework your vision:
· Be Brief: Keep it short and simple. While there’s no standard for what length a vision should take, you do not want to make it lengthy.
· Show Ambition: Be daring with your goals. Your vision should be exciting to inspire staff and employees, yet realistic and achievable enough.
· Write Concisely: Use simple language. If possible, find catchphrases that are easy to recall. The simpler your collaborators and partners consider it, the better for the business.
· Be futuristic: Sometimes, your vision might deviate from the norm. Focus on reaching into the company’s future – and the circumstances that would align to that – rather than reflecting on the company’s present status.
· Be Specific: Understand the environment within which your company operates, her services and target audience, the needs she meets, and let your words revolve around those. Vagueness helps little. You want your customers to understand what the company offers upon reading your vision.
If you’re struggling to convey the image impressed in your mind into words, you could consider having a vision brainstorming session. Invite important staff into a meeting. This serves to breed more loyalty and trust within the firm. Employees feel as though they’re essential pieces in the company’s growth plan. Include clear strategies on achieving this vision, keeping it simple and relatable.
Perhaps the most vital thing to remember is that your company’s vision should stem from the heart. The vision you have for your business is but a reflection of your heartbeat towards the business.