If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else." - Lawrence J. Peter
A Vision Statement is a powerful, inspirational and essential piece of every ambitious business owners toolkit. But despite this, they are not that widely used (or know about).
So in this blog, we are going to explore what they are, why you need (want) one and how to create your own, today.
Why do you need one?
Imagine you are building a house.
You know why (you want somewhere safe and secure for your family) and you have a vague idea of what you want to build – it must have 3-bedrooms, a garage and a pool.
Armed with this knowledge, you search for a builder.
This takes time because the first few turn you down (something about being “not sure what you actually want”), but undeterred by their failure to see your “vision” you keep searching (you will get this house built).
Eventually you find someone willing to get take on the project. Ok, a little rougher round the edges and more expensive than you had hoped, but you’re out of options… so work begins.
A few months later you turn up to site and go into meltdown.
The garage is on the wrong side of the building, the pool is far too big and the foundations are for a sprawling single-level bungalow; not the two-story cottage in the back of your mind!
When you raise this with the builder, he looks perplexed… “3-beds, a garage and a pool you said..?”.
Clearly there is a communication problem here, so you resign yourself to spending more time on site. Which means evenings and weekends away from the family, and, unwilling to compromise on your original vision, you need to go back to the bank for more money.
Progress slows dramatically, because without you on site, know-one knows what to do. And when you turn up, you find people are wandering around aimlessly or gossiping over coffee.
The timeline and budget blow-out and you start to wonder if this project will ever get complete (or if it’s even worth it!).
Of course, this isn’t how you build a house
In reality, you start with an idea, then you enlist the services of an architect (or draftsmen) to document your ideas in the form of drawings or 3D renders. A format that gives you, your builder and everyone involved clarity over what you are looking to achieve, and allowing the right people to formulate plans to deliver.
Why does it matter in business?
Because there are many parallels between building a house and building a business.
If you are not clear on what you’re trying to achieve, you can quickly lose direction.
This is amplified once your business starts to get traction, your team expands and the number of decisions you need to make daily grows exponentially, when the effectiveness of you and your team (who themselves are unsure of where you are headed) will suffer.
But let’s not forget…
… you started your business with a vision – whether to change the world, make yourself rich, be your own boss, solve a problem or something else – so instead of pushing forward with a vague concept of growth being the driving force, let’s re-discover that vision, expand it and use it to get clarity over what you want to achieve for you, your team and your stakeholders.
Vision and Mission, vs. Vision Statement
Traditional Vision and Mission
Most companies have a ‘Vision’ and a ‘Mission’. Typically 1-2 lines capturing what they want the business to become (Vision) and how they are going to do it (Mission).
As an example, here is ours:
Vision
Mission
This is a valuable asset that every business should have. It can be used to quickly explain to anyone interested in the business, a very high level view of where you are headed.
However, whilst its brevity is its strength when it comes too quickly explaining to someone, it’s a bit light on detail. Much like our building example earlier, we need more meat on the bones to understand exactly what you have in mind.
Vision Statement
A Vision Statement, in comparison, is a comprehensive document detailing your business at a point determined in the future, written as if it has already happened.
It captures your overall vision for the business (such as our example above), but then expands into “sub-visions” for different parts of the business that are important to you.
How to get started
Imagine yourself at a date in the future (I like to project 5 years ahead, but use what works for you), then imagine yourself there, at that point in time. You have achieved your dreams for the business and your lifestyle.
What do things look like? What does your business look like? What does your day to day look like?
These are the things we are capturing in our Vision Statement.
Now, start to think about the parts of the business that are important to you, and write them down. Then I’d also recommend thinking about the parts of the business that are important to others, and writing them down too.
These will become your “sub-vision”.
As an example, I’ve listed the sub-visions for MentorConnex below.
- Overall Vision
- Brand Vision
- Competitor Vision
- Mentor Vision
- Social Vision
- Leadership Vision
- Board Vision
- Employee Engagement Vision
- Communication Vision
- Product/Platform Vision
- Operations Vision
- Technology Vision
- Marketing Vision
- Sales Vision
- Customer Success Vision
- Office Vision
- Flexible Working Vision
Once you have those documented it’s time to add some detail, by writing out your vision for each of those categories.
Each section could be as short as a sentence, or as long as you need. The key think is to focus on capturing the key details as concisely as possible. This is a document you want to refer back to and share with others (more on that shortly), so brevity will make it easier to read, remember and review.
For some further inspiration, here’s a couple of examples from the MentorConnex Vision Statement to help get you started.
Overall Vision
On 1st January 2026, MentorConnex is fast becoming a household name.
Considered an indispensable element of every business owners and executives success toolkit, MentorConnex has achieved gross annual revenues of $[X] and a market cap of $[X].
Mentor Vision
MentorConnex mentors are the world’s leading entrepreneurs, CEO’s, thought-leaders and industry-leader.
Becoming a MentorConnex mentor is aspirational for business leaders’ and entrepreneurs’ past, present and future, looking to give back and contribute more.
And it is not easy. Mentors pass a rigorous approval process, adhere to strict code of conduct and complete training when necessary.
However, the rewards are considerable, including:
- Maximising impact by connecting with mentees who really need their skills
- Connecting with a network of like-minded peers
- Supporting powerful social causes through MentorConnex iContribute
The community of mentors fiercely protect the group and hold each other to high standards. The easiest way to become as a new mentor is to be referred.
Platform Vision
The MentorConnex platform is a joy to use and sets a benchmark in user experience.
Intuitive, sleek, sexy and secure, it truly enhances MentorConnex members ROI from mentorship.
Users discuss the platform and the service amongst their peer groups and encourage others “check-it out”.
It is an indispensable tool for business owners, business executives and mentors alike.
Clarity and alignment
As well as helping you clarify what you want your business to become, it is equally powerful for aligning your leadership and extended teams behind a common goal.
If you have a leadership team, discuss your vision plan openly with them.
Encourage and take onboard their input – even be prepared to compromise and adjust if you need to – remembering that you need their buy-in and support if you want to achieve your vision.
You can go one step further and give senior leaders the opportunity to draft their vision for an element of the vision plan.
For example, think of asking your sales leader to draft the ‘Sales Vision’ or your CTO to draft the ‘Technology’ vision.
You can then discuss and finalise it as a leadership team or one on one. And once aligned, you now share a common vision and all know what you are trying to achieve.
What if we don't all agree?
Of course, there will be instances where there is a misalignment of vision with one or more team members.
Minor differences can usually be accommodated with a little compromise. However, if you truly cannot reach alignment you may need to make some tough decisions and replace them with someone who does share your vision.
And be thankful you discovered your divergent visions now, instead of down the line. You will have avoided potentially years spent with leadership team members pulling in different directions and undermining your vision for the business.
Be prepared to share
Vision Statement can be shared with more than your immediate leadership team. Anyone you want (or need) to take on your journey with you can be inspired and assured by your clear and considered vision.
This included employees, investors, even customers. Of course you can choose to exclude certain elements of the plan if you feel they are too sensitive for certain audiences.
Keep it dynamic
Of course, a vision statement is not a complete set of plans. Like an architects drawings, it is nothing without proper project planning and execution.
But your vision statement will be a reference point for where you are and where you are headed.
That said, things change. Market’s change. Opportunities come and go.
So you may need to update your Vision Plan over time.
Re-visit your vision statement periodically, ideally once a quarter. Set a calendar reminder to sit with your leadership team and review critical questions such as…
- Are we, as a team, still aligned to our vision statement?
- Do our strategic plans ensure we are on target for our vision statement?
- Is any adjustment of our vision statement needed? If so, what?
Have fun with it!
You started your business with a vision; and now is your chance to re-connect with it.
If you are finding it hard to sit back and think about what exactly you want (and why you got into business in the first place) this is your opportunity to change things up!
Take some time out, have a really good think, and start your vision statement today.
And don’t limit your thinking on what is possible.
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." - Norman Vincent Peale
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