Overview of writing a Small Business Vision Statement:

If you’re a small business owner who heard a suggestion to draft a small business vision statement, you might ask yourself “why and what and how”? You also might get a lot of answers, which will vary depending on who you ask, about your question.

Telling you what a vision statement is, though, is not the best way to explain what it is. Showing you is the best way so here are five Fortune 500 companies’ vision statements, according to an article in Businessing magazine entitled “Vision Statement Examples And Inspiration” that lists 26 Fortune 500 vision statements.

1. Kellogg Company: To enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter.
2. Monsanto Company: Our vision to produce more, conserve more and improve lives across the globe is at the core of everything we do.
3. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company: Our vision is to be the trusted advocate for U.S. consumers and businesses by protecting what matters most and building a secure financial future.
4. State Farm Insurance: Our vision for the future is to be the customer’s first and best choice in the products and services we provide.
5. Wells Fargo & Company: We want to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.

As you can see, some companies explicitly use the word “vision” in their vision statement while others don’t. It’s also evident from reading vision statements that most of them are concise, generally one sentence long. Top Nonprofits analyzed the vision statements of 30 nonprofit organizations and calculated that they were on the common 14.56 words long. The shortest was three words (Equality for everyone); the longest was 31.

“The best visions are inspirational, clear, memorable, and concise,” concluded the Top Nonprofits report, which was entitled “30 Example Vision Statements.” “Is your vision statement longer than 20 words? Can you get it below 15? Below 10? Design your vision statement to communicate what you are working to achieve in a way that people can remember it and communicate this to others. If you can’t get your full vision below 15 words, consider also creating a vision tagline (2-6 words) which people can more easily remember.”

You might be thinking to yourself at this point ‘what is the difference between a vision statement and a mission statement?’ This Business News Daily article provides excellent answers to that question.

Vision statements are future-based; mission statements are present-based. Vision statements are for inspiring a company’s employees; mission statements are for staff and customers. Vision statements are outcome-based and answer the question “Where do I see my business going?” Mission statements respond to the question “Why does my business exist?”

Vision Statements Matter

Are vision statements required? If not, which small businesses should formulate one? And how to write a compelling small business vision statement.

The fact that so many Fortune 500 companies and nonprofit organizations have vision statements is a sure sign that they are beneficial although they are not required. If your firm’s employees are incredibly productive, super motivated, and seem committed to working for your company for several years, you might not need one.

If your employees are not all of those things, you should consider formulating a vision statement because vision statements do matter. The Business News Daily article reports that employees who “find their company’s vision meaningful have engagement levels of 68 percent, which is 19 points above average.” Employees who are more engaged are often more productive, the article notes.

As a small business owner, you need to think like an employee. What motivated you to work when you were an employee? Is completing a work assignment enough to motivate your employees to perform up to their potential? Does working for a company that has idealistic and ambitious goals strengthen your employees’ commitment to their employer? Will a clear, concise, and meaningful vision statement make your employees more likely to feel they have a long-term career with your company rather than a short-term job?

Here’s something else to consider — will a vision statement motivate YOU to be more committed to your business? An outcome-based vision statement can drive company leaders to work diligently every day toward achieving a long-term goal just like the goal of winning a sports championship can motivate players to work hard during every single regular season game.

An article in Entrepreneur magazine says that a vision statement is essential for small businesses because it “forces” small business leaders to think about their companies’ goals. “A vision can’t be vague,” says “Vision Statements: Why You Need One and How to Create One.” “It declares the outcomes you expect and becomes a guiding light that will lead your business forward. So make sure your vision statement states the results you intend to create.”

There isn’t a universal how-to guide for writing vision statements because they are so concise and situation specific. As a small business owner, though, you should consult your company’s other managers for ideas. Asking your employees is also a good idea. Involving more people in the decision-making process will enhance the chances that you will formulate a compelling vision statement.

The process can be hard work. The Forbes magazine article “Your Company Vision: If It’s Complicated, It Shouldn’t Be” sums up the process like this — “It should require effort to create, but should not require effort to understand.”

“Can you explain it to your friend that DOESN’T work in your industry?” the article says. “If not, stop and re-think. For obvious reasons, it is advantageous for the vision to be easily understood by the employees charged with making it a reality. However, you’ve struck gold if those same employees have internalized the vision so much so that they can recite it on call. Even more powerful is the impression left on the friend when the vision is delivered with a language they can understand. Remember complicated ≠ effective.”

A vision statement should NOT explain what the company does. It should trigger emotions, so your employees are motivated in the same way that a political candidate’s campaign workers are driven by an effective campaign slogan.

More Examples

As was stated earlier, looking at actual vision statements is a much better way of figuring out how to write a compelling vision statement than reading a list of tips.

The Entrepreneur magazine article lists six vision statements. Amazon.com’s statement is “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover any¬thing they might want to buy online.” The one written by eBay is “To provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything.”

This article lists the vision statements of Avon Products, Amazon, Harley-Davidson, Starbucks Corporation, Hilton Worldwide, J.C. Penney Company, CVS Caremark, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods Inc., Toys “R” Us, and Weyerhaeuser Company. Some of these vision statements try to reach your heart. Toys “R” Us wants “To put joy in kids’ hearts and a smile on parents’ faces.” Harley-Davidson wants “To fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcycling.”

Many of the vision statements listed in the Top Nonprofits report also tug at people’s hearts. Feeding America’s vision is “A hunger-free America.” Oxfam wants “A just world without poverty.” Alzheimer’s Association’s vision statement says “Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s.”

If you can project several years into the future and dream big, you can devise a vision statement for your small business that is just as effective for your employees, and you like some of the above vision statements.

If you have written a compelling Small Business Vision Statement, please do share it with your peers.

Good luck.