What should a good vision include?

An Effective Strategic Vision Statement Matters
According to research in Harvard Business Review of tens of thousands of working people around the world, effectively enlisting the hearts and minds of your organization in a shared vision of the future differentiates leaders from non-leaders.  In short, companies without an effective strategic vision struggle to provide a meaningful context for their mission, goals, strategies, and implementation plans.

Strategic Clarity Matters
The lack of a clear strategic vision can hamper short-term performance and long-term organizational health. Effective strategies provide crystal clear reasoning why the company, function or team does what it does and how specific actions should lead to superior outcomes in the future.

Our organizational alignment research found that strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing organizations in terms of revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction, and employee engagement.

Strategic Vision Defined
We define Strategic Vision as “What the organization hopes to become — the business you will be in tomorrow.”  There are a few common paths to creating a strategic vision.

• Some executive teams like to start with a clear and compelling Strategic Vision Statement to inspire and align the troops to a bigger and better future.
• Other leaders prefer to start with the company’s Mission Statement to ground the company with their “organization’s business and fundamental purpose.”
• Starting with a Strategic Mission Statement allows the team to create a Strategic Vision Statement that clearly articulates the organization’s future state if the Mission were fully accomplished.

Regardless of where you start in your strategy retreat, a clear vision and mission combined with your corporate values provide the foundation for strategic success. Without those three strategic drivers, it is difficult to develop annual strategic goals and actions that propel the enterprise forward in an aligned and differentiated manner.

A vision statement is an aspirational statement made by a company that outlines long-term goals. A successful vision statement inspires employees and steers an organization’s efforts.

Behavioral statistician Joseph Folkman performed a research study on vision statements and how they can affect a business’s success. His 2014 study found that employees who think their organization’s vision is meaningful show positive engagement levels 52% higher than if they didn’t. 

What that means is an inspiring vision statement causes employees to be invested in your company’s journey toward achieving your desired plans. Inspired employees inspire customers, and that passion will make your vision a reality.

Bottom line? Your vision statement is important.

What is a vision statement?

A vision statement provides a brief description of a company’s long-term goals. It’s typically ambitious and communicates how the company plans to make a difference in the world. Think of it as a roadmap for making decisions that align with your company’s philosophy and objectives.

A good vision statement helps you:

• Inspire teams and keep them focused
• Connect with customers in niche markets
• Make smarter decisions
• Attract top talent

A vision statement is usually paired with a mission statement to guide planning. It doesn’t have a set length. You can craft a one-sentence statement or write a three-page document discussing the company’s future.

The goal of a vision statement is to differentiate yourself from competitors and focus efforts on achieving your objectives. 

Vision statement examples from top companies 

Your vision statement is unique to your company, but it’s useful to see how popular brands express their future goals. Here are 11 examples:

1. Tesla
2. Nordstrom
3. Amazon
4. IKEA
5. Warby Parker
6. Patagonia
7. Disney
8. Southwest Airlines
9. Coca-Cola
10. Microsoft
11. Nike

1. Tesla

Vision statement: To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.

Tesla’s statement is focused on changing the car industry by fueling cars with sustainable energy. It is a sweeping goal, and one that caused Tesla to build one of the best car batteries ever created.

Taking it a step further, Tesla even released its patents in 2014 to encourage the movement to more sustainable transport in order to get closer to achieving its goal.

2. Nordstrom

Vision statement: To serve our customers better, to always be relevant in their lives, and to form lifelong relationships.

Nordstrom’s statement centers on serving its customers for a lifetime. Its vision shows the company values its customers first and foremost and believes in high-quality service and constant improvement for the sake of those customers. 

3. Amazon

Vision statement: To be 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. 

This statement communicates that Amazon wants to provide customers with anything they might want. Its aim is to build the company to be so expansive that any Amazon customer will never need to shop anywhere else again.

This ambition to become every person’s one-stop shop has turned Amazon into the leading global ecommerce market—with more than $469 billion in net sales in 2021, and growing every year. 

4. IKEA

Vision statement: To create a better everyday life for the many people.

IKEA’s statement shows its focus is the betterment of everyone’s life. As a company, it uses this vision statement to direct its ethics and what it calls the IKEA point of view. 

The IKEA point of view includes initiatives on making its products in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. It also includes the support of human rights and animal rights. 

It extends this idea of betterment to its employees by offering perks like four to six months of paid parental leave for all new parents (biological, adoptive, or foster). 

5. Warby Parker

Vision statement: We believe that buying glasses should be easy and fun. It should leave you happy and good-looking, with money in your pocket. We also believe that everyone has the right to see.

Warby Parker started with the grand vision of innovating eyewear through social media. The brand used social media to advertise its products and raise awareness of the need for glasses and exams for people without access to these services. 

Warby Parker’s vision statement conveys its belief that shopping for glasses shouldn’t be difficult or expensive and that everyone should be able to see. To that aim, it started the buy a pair, give a pair initiative. Every pair of glasses you purchase from Warby Parker will provide eye exams and glasses to those who wouldn’t otherwise have access to them.

6. Patagonia

Vision statement: To use all of its resources to defend life on Earth.

Patagonia’s vision statement shows it’s in it for the long haul in protecting the Earth. It even commits “all of its resources” to the cause. Patagonia makes it clear our well-being is directly connected to that of the planet. 

You can see Patagonia’s commitment to this vision statement by the 1% tax it imposes on itself. The brand takes 1% of all sales and donates it to environmental nonprofits. It also actively supports environmental activists. In fact, it even shut down all its stores and offices in September of 2019 so employees could strike alongside youth climate activists. 

7. Disney

Vision statement: To be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.

Disney’s statement declares its goal is to be the place people turn to for content. The vision statement is simple and provides the company with the direction it needs.

To that end, Disney has news and entertainment content makers like ESPN, ABC News, FOX News, and Marvel under its umbrella. 

8. Southwest Airlines

Vision statement: To be the world’s most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline.

Southwest’s vision statement makes it obvious that it wants to be a different kind of airline. While other airlines marketed themselves as exclusive and luxurious, Southwest promoted a company culture of love and acceptance. It even debuted with a love-themed marketing campaign and chose LUV as its stock market ticker symbol. 

9. Coca-Cola

Vision statement: To craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love.

Coca-Cola has chosen a globally appealing vision statement. True to its word, Coca-Cola has become the world’s leading soft drink brand. It has a presence in more than 200 countries and owns more than 200 other brands—like Vitaminwater, Fanta, Honest Tea, and AdeS soy-based beverages. 

10. Microsoft

Vision statement: To help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.

Microsoft’s inspiring vision statement seeks to support people. You can see its intention isn’t about business, it’s about people and giving those people the tools to be their best selves. 

With this aim, Microsoft has numerous initiatives. It’s a big supporter of inclusivity, diversity, environmental issues, and corporate responsibility. And to put its money where its mouth is, it offers free health care to all employees, including vision and dental. 

11. Nike

Vision statement: Do everything possible to expand human potential.

Nike’s vision statement shows its commitment to making people better. It invests in scientific and technological advances in gear and clothing. It also has programs supporting sustainability and inclusivity, and bringing awareness to social issues. 

For example, in 2018, Nike supported Colin Kaepernick’s protest to bring awareness to police brutality by featuring him in an ad after he became a free agent. Then, in 2020 after the Black Lives Matter movement began, it committed to donating $140 million to programs focused on helping Black Americans.

These examples show how Nike uses its vision statement to direct the moves of the company.

Vision statement vs. mission statement 

A vision statement and a mission statement are a company’s purposes, goals, and core values. They are similar and oftentimes confused, but there are some differences:

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