Vision, Vision, Vision! How to create a vision for a company?

A well-conceived vision consists of two major components: core ideology and envisioned future. Core ideology,defines what we stand for and why we exist.The envisioned future is what we aspire to become, to achieve, to create—something that will require significant change and progress to attain.  Core ideology defines the enduring character of an organization—a consistent identity that transcends product or market life cycles, technological breakthroughs, management fads, and individual leaders. In fact, the most lasting and significant contribution of those who build visionary companies is the core ideology. Core values are the essential and enduring tenets of an organization. A small set of timeless guiding principles, core values require no external justification; they have intrinsic value and importance to those inside the organization.  The point is that a great company decides for itself what values it holds to be core, largely independent of the current environment, competitive requirements, or management fads. Clearly, then, there is no universally right set of core values. A company need not have as its core value customer service. We have them because they define for us what we stand for, and we would hold them even if they became a competitive disadvantage in certain situations.  So ultimately vision comes depending on what you believe, what you want to achieve , and how far youwill go to achieve it!

There are many books which talk about creation of visions and many training program. A jist of all these things, which can help in creating vision are -  

1. First of all we should know what are we strong at - Gain this knowledge by defining the purpose of existence in the business.

2. Customer focus and organizational growth should be the basis for defining the vision statement, Eg: Should become a preferred partner to my customer and market leader in Connectivity solutions by2020.

3. Ensure your employees understand this and can relate themself to the vision. This is important so that employees feel that they can also grow with the growing organization.

4. Never use specific number in vision statement like - $10B company as these are the mission statements in fixed tenure.

There is no hard and fix rule for this. A leader must relate himself to the companies vision and it should demonstrate the strengths of the organization.

Vision? here are some keys to start writing one..

1. A company vision statement should be brief and succinct. 

2. Think of things in a long-term, broad sense, without sounding generic or too common.

3. The best statement will be clear about who you are as a company as well as who you wish to become.

4. Lastly, understanding your goals and being able to state them clearly is the first step toward making it happen.

understand and listen to the founders on their goal,why did they create the company,what they want to do,what are they expecting and where do they see their company20 years from now.

you will get the answer and vision will be formulated in their own words. just listen carefully and let them talk until they stop.

Vision is a statement describing the company's erceived future.

One of the techniques to create it is to have a clear strategy to handle the five competitive forces in your industry (and their expected changes) in the future. In other words, where will you position your company in the industry's competitive landscape.

Strong and effective leadsrship can only come up with viable and succesful vision for a company

Here are the additional guardrails for creating a vision that meets the criteria of the golden rule:

1. Does it describe what you do? If so, it shouldn’t. The vision statement is not an opportunity to use creative, colorful language to describe the operations or activities of the organization. It should describe the resultant experience or outcome. Too many organizations get caught up explaining how they work. Instead, focus on the subsequent outcomes after the work is done.
2. Has it gone beyond simple? Is it over-engineered? Have you literally beaten all the ‘simple’ out of it with your business acumen? If so, stop. Believe it or not, there is an inverse relationship between the number of business buzzwords you use and the clarity your visions creates – a true example of less being more. Remember the company that had this one: “… a computer on every desk …”?
3. Is it easy to recite/explain? Can you explain it to your friend that DOESN’T work in your industry? 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 language they can understand. Remember complicated ≠ effective.
4. Did you sleep on it? Unfortunately, vision crafting is not exempt from the law of diminishing returns. If you think you’ve got the vision statement nailed, stop and sleep on it. When you come back to it, do you quickly re-connect with the same enthusiasm you had when you first read it?

THINK FIRST THAT IS PROFIT AND NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION , WELAFRE THEN DECIDE THE WHATS VISION ( THINGS BEHIND THE SCENS MARKET CAPTUTRED , PROFIT MAXIMIZATION ,WELAFRE , CHARITY ) ETC

Vision is about future, where do you / your company want to be / become infuture?

it is about long term goals to acheive.

If your company wants to be number one in the global market, so, it will take many many years of planning, executing and making changes to move your company from the current situation to the rank it draw to itself.

LoLz, LoLz, LoLz !!!

With due respect Sir. Sharing my practical observation. Most of the companies speak alot about vision. And most of them are blind.

I believe, Vision of an individual or a company is created only when "ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS."