Every successful company has a vision statement. Vision and business go hand in hand. The best entrepreneurs are the ones who can set an audacious goal, inspire talented people to pursue it with them, and build a business that achieves that vision and makes a lasting impact.
It provides clarity
A vision statement is important, but it is more of a broad guide, like a compass pointing you in the correct direction as you lead the business. Create a Vivid Vision that’s far more specific, and shows employees what the company will look and feel like at a future date.
Writing a Vivid Vision requires leaders to contemplate exactly what business they want to build. How many employees do you want to have, and in which markets? What is the exact revenue goal you want to hit? Getting even more granular: if you want to be an award-winning company, which awards do you specifically want to win?
These questions turn your vision and values into a specific plan with measurables that become annual and quarterly priorities. It sets a very clear end point.
It unifies your team
Prospects and new employees should read the Vivid Vision as part of the onboarding process. Walkthrough the document with each new employee personally, allowing them to ask questions about the document and build an understanding of where we are headed. If it doesn’t really excite them, the organization probably isn’t the right place for them to work.
Employees today, especially millennials, want to understand how they can contribute at a higher level. As companies grow, it’s important for employees to understand how their day to day work makes an impact on the long-term future of the business. A Vivid Vision addresses this need, providing a clear picture for employees of what the company is striving to become and how their role moves the company forward, giving them a connection to the greater strategy of the business.
When your employees have a clear understanding of where the company is going, how their work affects that progress, and what specifically they need to do each day to advance the company toward its goals., it drives high engagement across your organization.
It creates public accountability
It’s no surprise that setting goals leads to better results–it’s hard to achieve something without setting out to do it intentionally. But even more effective than just setting a goal is sharing it: a study by Dominican University’s Dr. Gail Mathews found that people who send their goals to their friends and regularly report on their progress hit those goals 76 percent of the time.
A Vivid Vision follows this example by providing a record of a company’s specific future goals. It’s shared openly because you should want to be held accountable for your goals and aren’t worried about the competition. After all, if they’re focused on what you’re doing, they aren’t setting their own path. Use your Vivid Vision as a clear measuring stick for progress and adjust whenever things move off course.
A Vivid Vision is more than just an aspiration–it’s a clear, specific vision for exactly what company you and your team are trying to build.