Vision

What does vision mean?

In summary, your vision indicates where you want to go, what you want to mean to your target audience, and how you plan to achieve that. Without a vision, a company is directionless, as a vision provides guidance and creates unity within the team. In a company without a vision, it is almost certain that a lot of time, energy, and money will be wasted. Yet, many entrepreneurs underestimate the development of a vision.

For an entrepreneur, the vision represents his view on the long-term perspective of his business. These are the principles from which his business operates.

It's wise to include a challenging ambition in your vision. That's exactly what's needed to improve and be innovative. Even if the ambition seems unattainable at first glance, with the right approach, you can make it achievable!

However, be critical. For instance, if your ambition is to grow significantly, there must be enough market for what you plan to do. In other words, it must be of interest to enough customers. Moreover, what you are going to do must be distinctive compared to your competitors.

By articulating our vision, we make clear where we want to go. Our vision also reveals the market position we aim to occupy within the next three to five years.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Developing a Good Vision:

1. The responsible person inventories what is already available and records it in the 'Vision' input field within ICR.

• The ambition existing within the organization.
• Outcomes of any previous attempts to develop a good vision.
• Important elements, for instance, those laid out in research reports, annual reports, or (strategic) plans.
• Similar texts from competitors and other relevant organizations.

2. Share the inventory outcomes with your core team - via the 'Share with your team' feature under the 'Vision' input field within ICR.

• Share the results of step 1 with your organization's core team.
• Discuss with each other which elements must be included in the vision.
• Record these in the 'Vision' input field within Route ICR.
• Formulate a draft description of the vision and formally request feedback from the core team via the 'Share with your team' function.

3. Ensure buy-in within your organization.

• If the core team is satisfied with the draft vision, ask a larger group of employees, from all levels and departments, for feedback.
• Based on the responses, the core team finalizes the description of the vision.
• Request feedback one more time from the employees involved earlier to ensure that the most recent feedback and associated scores are recorded within ICR.
• The core team members ensure that everyone understands what the vision means for their daily work activities.

Also read 'Shared vision and approach create a foundation for support'.

Determine the Goal, Make a Plan, and Get Started

Determine the goal, make a plan, and get started. Does that appeal to you? Then start your journey towards growth and success now, completely free of charge. We give you 14 days to experience our structured Route ICR approach, from step-by-step plans and e-learning to collaboration and improvement plans. And there's no obligation!

Also read Successful entrepreneurship can be learned.