What is a Business Vision?

We had lots of good discussion about this in our session this week, but I like the idea of the business vision as a North Star. Where a mission leads your day to day work as you’re head down plugging away at the work of running a business or leading a team, you need to lift your head up from time to time to make sure that you are still moving in the right direction. The vision  as a North Star gives you a point of reference in the distance that you can look to when you pick your head up from your mission. The vision is focused on a future state of your business, perhaps attainable, but very frequently not attainable. The important thing is that it is far enough away and grand enough that you continue to strive to achieve it over a longer period of time.

Why is a Business Vision Important?

The vision is a focal point somewhere out in the future. It is a picture of the ideal state of a business. By writing and sharing a vision it provides leaders and followers something to work toward. It’s also far enough away that there is more than one way to get to it, providing opportunities to think creatively about how to get there. If mistakes are made or strategies don’t have the desired result, then you can look up, find your vision, and adjust your course. 

How Does a Business Vision Fit into an Overall Business Transformation Plan?

Anyone can transform a business, but without a vision, you might transform your business into something that doesn’t align. As we’re developing our plans, we should be coming back to our vision as a touchstone. Is what I’m doing really having the desired effect? Is my plan truly transformational or is it just pushing food around a plate?