What is a vision statement? How to write one + examples

When you start a business, it's important to have a strong set of founding principles to build your company on. In addition to a mission statement and company values, you also need a compelling vision statement to guide your business into the future.

The vision statement is designed to inspire employees, compel investors, and engage your customers' imaginations. It paints a picture ofyour company's future and the impact you want your business to have on the world. Here, we'll break down the elements of a great vision statement, explain why it matters, guide you through the process, and walk through examples of excellent vision statements.

What is a vision statement?

A vision statement is a concise declaration of your company's long-term aspirations and the impact it wants to have on the world. Unlike a mission statement, which describes what you do today, a vision statement paints a picture of the future you're working to create.

Vision statement vs. mission statement

While both statements help define your company's character, they serve different purposes:

Why is a vision statement important?

A strong vision statement tells everyone in your organization where you're going. It answers big questions like: Why are we doing this work? What are we building together?

Here's why a vision statement matters:

• Provides direction: A clear vision guides strategic planning and keeps everyone moving toward the same goal.

• Inspires your team: Employees stay focused and motivated, especially during periods of change or challenge.

• Attracts talent: People who share your aspirations are drawn to organizations with a compelling vision.

• Aligns decision-making: When your team understands the bigger picture, they make better choices that support company goals.

Characteristics of a great vision statement

Vision statements are like snowflakes; each one is unique to its company in length, form, structure, and scope. Your vision statement should reflect your company's personality. However, there are a few traits that all great vision statements share:

Ambitious

The purpose of a vision statement is to inspire employees, investors, and customers to believe in your company's mission. Great vision statements are aspirational and ambitious. They convey a sense of passion for the ideal future toward which the company is working.

Feasible

Though your vision needs to be ambitious in order to be inspiring, it shouldn't be so far out of reach that it feels impossible. You want to choose something that your company will have to strive for, but a completely unattainable goal isn't a vision; it's a fantasy.

Broad

A vision statement connects your company's mission to your goals, but it isn't a goal in and of itself. If your vision statement feels too specific or achievable, zoom out and broaden its scope.

Strategic

Don't try to cram every detail of your vision into your vision statement; be strategic in selecting the ideas that feel the most relevant and compelling to your stakeholders. You might dream of someday having offices in every major city in the world, but your vision statement should focus on aspirations that speak to your company's mission and purpose.

7 steps to write your company's vision statement

There's a lot more to crafting a great vision statement than just writing a few sentences. To create a statement that's truly aspirational and inspiring, you'll need to put in a little work. Here's our seven-step process:

1. Identify important stakeholders

Your vision statement speaks for your entire company. Make a list of co-founders, executives, and senior employees who can help you craft and refine your statement to represent your organization as a whole.

Getting buy-in from company leaders is also a smart strategic move. The more they believe in the vision statement, the better they'll model it in their daily work and communicate it to their teams.

Make a second list of stakeholders that represent your vision statement's audience. This list may consist of personas rather than actual people, and should include:

• Investors

• Board members

• Partner organizations

• Different customer personas

• Employees

• Shareholders

Depending on your industry, this list may be longer or shorter. The key is to consider all audience types, not just customers. Check your drafts against this list to ensure your vision resonates with employees, investors, and partners alike.

2. Start with a list of keywords

Ultimately, you're aiming to craft a few concise sentences, and the process of crafting those sentences will be a lot easier if you have a "word bank" of sorts to draw from as you write. Conduct an open brainstorming session with your internal stakeholders to develop a keyword list.

Subdivide your keyword list into smaller categories to ensure it's comprehensive. At a minimum, collect keywords related to:

• Your product or service

• Your mission and values

• Your company's goals and initiatives

• Your company's long-term strategic plan

• Adjectives that describe your company, product, teams, community, and ideal future (e.g., expert, innovative, affordable, inspiring)

• Adverbs that describe the way in which your company operates (e.g., flexibly, sustainably, cooperatively, fearlessly)

The number of keyword categories will vary by industry and company. The goal is to create a resource you can draw from when you get stuck or need to replace jargon with clearer language.

3. Answer foundational company questions

In addition to your keywords document, take time during your brainstorm to answer the following questions:

• What is our organization's main purpose?

• What are our company's main strengths?

• What are our company values?

• Why does what we're building matter?

• How do we want to make a difference as a company?

• What is our vision for our company culture?

• What are our most ambitious goals?

• What impact do we want our company to have on the world?

• What do our company's wants? What about the company's needs?

• If our company succeeded in everything it set out to do, how would the world be different?

4. Sort your answers by importance

By the time you're finished brainstorming, you'll have a wealth of ideas written down. Set this content aside for a few days so you can return with fresh eyes to decide what belongs in your vision statement.

Sit down with your vision statement tiger team and review everything you've written. Highlight ideas and phrases that feel most important to your company, and cross out items you're ready to eliminate. Don't throw away discarded content entirely; everything you brainstormed can be helpful for other documents, such as your core values, roadmap, or business plan.

5. Write your company's vision out long-form

At the end of step four, you'll have a smaller "word bank" of your most important phrases, ideas, keywords, and answers to foundational company questions. Your next step will be to organize these ideas into sentences that flow logically and are ordered according to your company's priorities.

Don't worry about length yet; focus on communicating your vision clearly and touching on all the key points. It's much easier to edit a comprehensive statement than to bulk up one that's missing pieces.

6. Step back and evaluate

Before you go through the work of editing your vision down to size, take a step back and look at your vision paragraph from afar. This is another point where you may benefit from setting it aside for a few days and returning with fresh eyes.

As you review your vision paragraph, check for the following things:

• Is it ambitious enough? Your paragraph should feel aspirational, not like a finite goal to be accomplished.

• Is it too ambitious? Make sure you strike a balance between idealistic and unrealistic.

• Does it accurately reflect your organization? Run your paragraph by internal stakeholders who weren't involved in creating it, and ask for their feedback on what may be missing or unnecessary.

• Does it make sense? Have friends and family members read your paragraph to confirm that it makes sense to the average reader.

7. Write your final vision statement

Once you've adjusted your vision paragraph and made the changes you wanted to make, it's time to edit your vision paragraph down to a vision statement. In many cases, your paragraph may naturally shrink as you solicit and implement feedback from others.

Here are a few ways to shorten your vision paragraph:

• Eliminate what's unnecessary. Now that you've stepped away from your paragraph a few times and gotten a few rounds of feedback, are there any phrases or ideas that don't feel as necessary as they did when you wrote them? Cut any parts that feel lackluster or less impactful than the rest of the paragraph.

• Look for synonyms. Are there any areas where you used several words to say something that there's already a word for? For example, you might replace the phrase "give people the ability to" with "provide access."

• Edit each concept individually. Chop your paragraph into sentences and chop your sentences into phrases. Pick up each small segment on its own and see if you can come up with a shorter way to phrase it.

When your vision statement is complete, bring it back to your stakeholders for final feedback and any finishing tweaks.

Vision statement writing tips

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind as you start writing your vision statement:

• Collaborate. The vision statement should reflect the character of your entire company, and there's no better way to accomplish this than to write the statement alongside key members of your team. Gather leaders from across the organization to participate in vision statement brainstorms.

• Write first, edit later. Don't try to write a succinct, well-crafted vision statement right out of the gate. Put everything you think of down on paper; no matter how small, it may spark better ideas later on.

• Keep your own vision statement separate. Many people have personal vision statements that reflect their individual goals. It's important to keep your personal aspirations and your company's vision separate so that your company's vision statement resonates with your entire team.

• Avoid buzzwords and jargon. Using "industry-speak" makes a brand feel aloof and inaccessible. Plain language is always more powerful than jargon.

• Avoid ambiguity. You want to avoid using words that could potentially be interpreted in a way that changes the entire vision statement's meaning. Your statement needs to stand on its own.

Vision statement examples

Writing a vision statement is hard, especially the first time. If you need inspiration or get stuck, these examples from well-known companies can help spark new ideas.

Not all companies separate their mission and vision statements. Some combine them into a single purpose statement, while others present them under broader headings like "who we are" or "our purpose".

Here, we've gathered mission and vision statements for a few companies that have publicly set both.

BBC

Mission: To act in the public interest, BBC serves all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain.

Vision: To be the most creative company in the world.

IKEA

Mission: IKEA offers a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishings at affordable prices.

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

Southwest Airlines

Mission: Southwest connects people to what's important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.

Vision: To become the world's most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline.

Hasbro

Mission: Hasbro creates the world's best play and entertainment experiences.

Vision: To make the world a better place for all children, fans, and families.

Google

Mission: To make things universally accessible and useful, Google organizes the world's information.

Vision: To significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible.

VMware

Mission: To harness the next wave of innovation and solve customers' toughest challenges, VMware uses disruptive technologies such as edge computing, AI, blockchain, machine learning, Kubernetes, and more.

Vision: To build a sustainable, equitable, and more secure future for all.

Use your vision statement to help you grow

A company's vision statement is a living document; it should evolve as the company achieves its business goals and sets new ones. Revisit your vision statement once every year or so to make sure it still accurately reflects your company's ideal future.

Once your vision statement is complete, the next step is putting it into action. A vision board can help you visualize your goals and keep your team aligned. Connect your vision to your team's daily work by setting clear goals and tracking progress. Get started with Asana to align your vision with strategic goals, keep your team focused, and turn your aspirations into measurable outcomes.

Frequently asked questions about vision statements