Your business’s vision statement communicates your ultimate goal.
Since mission and vision statements are usually discussed in the same conversation, your mission statement is what you do, while your vision statement is the view once you’re done.
Below are a few formal definitions to elaborate on the concept.
DEFINITIONS
According to . . .
[A vision statement is] an aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action.
Similar to a mission statement, a vision statement provides a concrete way for stakeholders, especially employees, to understand the meaning and purpose of your business. However, unlike a mission statement – which describes the who, what and why of your business – a vision statement describes the desired long-term results of your company’s efforts. For example, an early Microsoft vision statement was “a computer on every desk and in every home.”
“A company vision statement reveals, at the highest levels, what an organization most hopes to be and achieve in the long term,” said Katie Trauth Taylor, CEO of writing consultancy Untold Content. “It serves a somewhat lofty purpose – to harness all the company’s foresight into one impactful statement.”
EXAMPLES
Want to see those conceptual definitions in action? Below are a number of examples to scroll though to see the different ways famous companies communicate their vision.
Google: “To provide access to the world’s information in one click.”
Amazon: “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
Target: “Guided commitments to great value, the community, diversity, and the environment.”
Ebay: “To be the world’s favorite destination for discovering great value and unique selection.”
Nordstrom: “To serve our customers better, to always be relevant in their lives and to form lifelong relationships. And while serving our customer face-to-face is the foundation and hallmark of how we’ve historically served them, today customers seek our service in new ways. Speed, convenience, innovation, and personalization have become cornerstones of the customer experience. Guided by these new needs, we continue to invest in the cross-channel experience, combining the accessibility of pure online experience with the high-touch inclusivity of our stores.”
Versace: “To make women and men feel beautiful and empowered.”
BBC: “To act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain.”
Netflix: “Becoming the best global entertainment distribution service; licensing entertainment content around the world; creating markets that are accessible to film makers; and helping content creators around the world to find a global audience.”
The Bank of New York: “Improving lives through inclusion, innovation and investing.”
J.P. Morgan: “Aspire to be the best; execute superbly; build a great team and a winning culture.”
Walgreens: “To be America’s most-loved pharmacy-led health, well-being and beauty company.”
CVS: “We strive to improve the quality of human life.”
United Way: “United Way envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, financial stability and healthy lives.”
Make-a-Wish: “To be able to make every eligible child’s wish come true.”
General Motors: “To create a future of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion, and we have committed ourselves to leading the way toward this future.”
Tesla: “To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.”
Apple: “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing.”
IBM: “To be the world’s most successful and important information technology company.”
Starbucks: “To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.”
Taco Bell: “To grow into the largest fast-food provider of Mexican style cuisine in emerging markets.”
Burger King: “To be the most profitable QSR business, through a strong franchise system and great people, serving the best burgers in the world.”
McDonalds: “To move with velocity to drive profitable growth and become an even better McDonald’s serving more customers delicious food each day around the world.”
ANATOMY OF A VISION STATEMENT
As you may have noticed, most vision statements are comprised of the same basic components. I’ll use our vision statement here at Brand Building for Small Business as an example:
While I have the different parts listed numerically for clarity, the order isn’t important. As you’ve seen throughout the dozens of examples, these components can look very different from one company to the next. All that matters is that you’ve clearly and fully communicated the vision of your company.
VISION STATEMENT GENERATOR
Now it’s your turn. Try creating a vision statement for your business based on the structure below.
Here’s another example for good measure . . .
Have any questions? As always, we’d love to hear from you. Scroll below to the “Leave a Reply” section. Happy vision statement drafting!
Brand Building for Small Business 
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