How important is a vision statement to your company or division? Well, have you ever thought about embarking on a journey without knowing where you are going? The same can be said about running a company, without a vision statement you are going places but who knows if it is in the right direction or even if you want to go there.

A vision statement should paint a picture of what you want your business or division to look like in the future. A vision statement should be specific to a company, team or division and therefore there could be numerous vision statements in one company. It should tell you what you are trying to build. It should be expansive, full of passion and allow you to dream of possibilities. This is not something that you are necessarily going to share with your customers this is about what you want for your future.

Your vision statement should excite you and help you dream. If your vision statement doesn't excite you how can you expect to be successful, how can go to work each day and be motivated?

To create your vision statement you need to think outside the box, think of wild possibilities. This is not the time to be limited by practicalities and what you believe be to truths. Aim for the stars. When writing your vision statement keep the ideas flowing. Use adjectives that excite and motivate you. Don't let anything stand in your way.

Once you have the first draft down live with it for a couple of days, ask others for their input. Remember nothing is set in stone. The vision statement you create today may work for the next 6 months or 3 years but ultimately the environment changes or you begin to see new possibilities and then your vision statement needs to change as well.

Below are 3 examples of vision statements that work. Many have numbers and dates in them but this is not a requirement. The numbers do, however, focus your ideas and clarify what you want to achieve. They also are measurable and you will be able to see when you achieve that vision.

Industrial Company: Within the next five years build ZXM into the premier west coast industrial process automation company specializing in integration solutions. ZXM revenues will grow to $20 million by 2009 by expanding its role from a manufacturing rep. company to a complete engineering, field service and process solutions company.

Management Team: Evolve the existing management team into a vital growing force that:

Fuels the growth of the company by seeing and being a part of the larger vision.

Builds on its own energy and successes; learns from its failures/shortfalls.

Expands its capacity to contribute to the overall management of the company.

Develops an espirit de corps that is supportive of the individual, the team, and the company.

Designs a work style/culture that is adaptable and flexible to move quickly and profitably to meet the needs of the customer.

Marketing Plan: Within the next year, build a highly efficient marketing program to catapult our web graphics seminar business to $500,000 annual revenues.

Create your own vision statement To create a vision statement it could help to fill in the blanks of the sentence below:

Within the next ___ years grow ______________________ (company/department name) into a ______________________ (type of company) providing ______________________ (description of products/services) to ______________________ (description of target customer/clients) with annual sales of $ ________.

A vision statement is the first step towards achieving the results you truly desire.