What Is the Purpose of a Vision Statement to a Company?

A vision statement is an expression of where one wants to be in the future. What they want and intend to achieve and to a certain degree, it states to which levels that aim should be achieved. Vision statements are important to an individual, organization and even company. The vision statement states the scope to which a particular goal of a company must be achieved. For instance it can go as far as expressing to which boundaries it wants to achieve its goals like regionally, nationally or globally. A vision statement of a company clearly spells out the ambitions of the business stating exactly where it wants to be. The major elements of a company vision statement are the purpose of the company, the goals of the company and the future aspirations of the company. In my own words, I would say the company vision statement answers the key questions of a company which are “Who are we?”, “What do we value?” and “Where are we going?” In the ‘who are we’ question, the vision statement answers what the company does, for instance what service it provides or what goods it produces. In the ‘What do we value?’ question, the vision seeks to reveal the core values of the company, what it stands for, what it will do and what it will not do. The ‘Where are we going?’ question tells the public what the goals of a company are in terms of its own achievement and the achievement for the people it serves. A vision statement if followed and honored by both the management and the staff of a company, will make it far easier for that company to thrive.

This has enabled these companies to be the key players they are. A Vision statement provides the connecting dots between mission and strategy. When the company has a clear vision statement, it will clearly choose the mission statement and the strategy it will use for development hence be able to grow. Vision statements if effective in command, should encourage an intention of continuous creativity and innovation and a relentless improvement culture in a company. A perfect vision statement will in some way encourage new stakeholders to come on board, it will encourage investors to invest and new clients to consider the service and product being sold. A vision statement also serves as the guide for the strategic development of a company. The strategy employed by a company will be judged by its ability to lead to the achievement of the vision of the company. Where the strategy does not lead to this vision, the stake holders can consider to drop the strategy and take on more effective strategies. A vision statement can be related to the character traits of a person. People will be more drawn to others whose characters they find acceptable and fitting to them. A company through its vision statement will attract like-minded people in terms of stakeholders, employees and there will be more effective exercise of tasks as there is harmony within the company and its stakeholders. A vision statement serves as motivation for the employees of a company.

When there is a vision, there is direction and where there is direction, there is purpose and where there is purpose, there is achievement and where there is achievement, there is growth, and what company does not aim to grow? This shows us the purpose of a vision statement. Vision statements are brief and are more inclined to future prospective. It shows the wider picture of a company in terms of where it wants to be. The vision statement communicates the purpose and future prospective to the stakeholders who include the customers or clients, employees, investors, suppliers and the government. When a company clearly spells out its vision statement and is judged by stakeholders as achievable and in their own favor, they are more inclined to trust the organization or company. When the company employees have clearly understood the vision of the company and the strategy it holds in its power to achieve that vision, then they will easily be able to implement the strategies of the company and hence propel the company to achieve and move forward. All the 500 fortune companies have clearly communicated vision statements which have now become very familiar with all stakeholders hence increasing the company’s credibility.

They will work harder to achieve the goals of the company which is at the advantage of the company and even so the employees, in that the company will grow and provide better benefits to its employees. It is also true that a vision statement differentiates a company from others. Companies may be operating in the same field but the quality of their products or services will vary depending on their visions. For instance it is a common goal of companies to achieve profit but two companies in the same field will both earn profit but not in the same ways or strategies. It is these strategies employed to bring about the vision of the company that will make a difference in the two companies yet both will be making profit. Depending on how a company intends to make its profit, the stakeholders will decide which company better suites them. Vision statements communicate a lot to both the internal and external stakeholders. It is however true that writing vision statements can be pretty difficult and challenging. It has to put into account the future, the present situation without being idealistic. Implementation can become challenging on the side of the stakeholders but on a general note, vision statements are a must-have for a running company with a hope to thrive.