5 Components and 4 Criteria of an Effective Strategic Vision Statement

An Effective Strategic Vision Statement Matters
The ability to effectively enlist the hearts and minds of your organization in a shared vision of the future differentiates leaders from non-leaders.  Recent McKinsey research found that companies are almost twice as likely to have above-median financial performance when their top team has a shared and meaningful vision.  In short, vision matters, and companies without an effective strategic vision struggle to provide 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 along with 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, leadership effectiveness, 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 before they define their fundamental purpose.
• Other leaders prefer to start with the company’s Mission Statement to ground the company with their “organization’s business and fundamental purpose” before they articulate the organization’s future state.

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

Five Attributes of an Effective Strategic Vision Statement
While there is no perfect formula, based upon over 25 years of strategic clarity facilitation with high growth companies, here are five key components of an effective Strategic Vision statement to consider.

1. Future Oriented
   What will the organization look like, feel like, think, and say in the future? Where is the organization headed? What does the organization’s full potential look like?
2. Inspiring and Challenging
   What vivid and energizing image do you want to create for people about your desired outcomes and goals? What is your dream? What mountaintop are you striving to reach? What catalyst will impel the organization to collectively move toward that dream?
3. Motivating and Memorable
   What notable and emotionally connecting future direction do you want to keep reaching and pushing toward?
4. Purpose-driven
   What is the larger sense of organizational purpose you are striving to obtain? Are you building a cathedral or are you laying stones?
5. Unique
   Can you substitute your strategic vision statement for others inside or outside your industry? If you can, your unique value proposition needs some more work.

Four Criteria of an Effective Strategic Vision Statement
Once you have crafted a draft Strategic Vision Statement with your key stakeholders, your next step is to evaluate the statement itself using the following four criteria of an effective vision statement:

1. Short Enough?
   Less is more.  You don’t want a long vision statement that no one will truly remember or embrace.  We push for 15 words or less.
2. Believable Enough?
   People must believe in where you are headed strategically. The long-term vision can’t be deemed as unattainable or inauthentic.
3. Achievable Enough?
   While the vision should be a stretch, it must be perceived to be possible over time with the right amount of effort for it to be a viable strategic driver and motivator.
4. Relevant Enough?
   And lastly, the vision itself has to matter to all key stakeholders for it to take root.  Everyone needs to be able to see their future in the organization’s future.

The Bottom Line
Aligned leadership teams lead people into a bigger and better future by ensuring an inspiring, motivating, challenging, memorable, and unique picture of where the business is headed.  The best leaders actively engage their employees in the process of creating a shared vision of success.  Is your vision believable, achievable, and relevant enough to engage your organization to perform at its peak?

To learn more about creating a clear and compelling strategy to get to the next level, download How To Stress Test Your Current Strategy