By Virain de Mel

For any organization to establish strategy and direction, it should come up with four basic factors. They are, vision, mission, goals and objectives. Out of these, for a business organization, vision statement is held in high value. A vision, in the broad sense of the word, is a dream. This is to a certain extent true of business organization vision statements as well. A vision statement can be the word picture of a dream of guiding members of an organization. This dream for the organization should consist of certain characteristics for it to be effective for the organization’s performance. The purpose of the vision statement is to inspire, energize, motivate, and stimulate creativity, not to serve as a measuring stick for success. A vision statement should be,

Futuristic
A vision statement should map the desired outcome for the organization years in the future. This can be from 5 to 20 years.

Proactive
As part of any good strategy, the vision statement should be able to address an issue or achievement before it surfaces. It should be proactive rather than reactive.

Challenging
A vision for a business organization should not be an easy task to achieve. Though it should be a colossal task, it should not be unrealistic as well. If it becomes unrealistic the organizational members will lose morale and motivation to achieve the vision.

Motivating
Motivation is an essential part of good organizational performance. It is so, in the case of a vision statement as well. The vision statement should be highly motivating. It should encourage people to thrive and perform to their prime levels and bring out their best for the organization.

Hence, when writing a vision statement that has the relevant characteristics, several points should be given due consideration.

It should be a summary with a catchy phrase
The vision statement should be summarized using a powerful phrase in the first paragraph. This is done to capture the essence of the vision because using a simple memorable phrase can greatly enhance the effectiveness of the vision statement. This special phrase will serve as an activation button to the rest of the vision in the mind of everyone that reads it.

Microsoft's vision of "A personal computer in every home running Microsoft software” is perfect for this point. This simple yet very powerful phrase can be used throughout the organization to remind everyone of the vision so that they will be constantly aware of this which will trigger motivation.

It can be long too
Vision statements can be much longer than mission statements. The purpose is to create a mental picture charged with emotion that can serve to energize, inspire and motivate the organizational members. So in order to accomplish this, it’s alright to take as much space as needed.

It should describe the best possible outcome
In general, the vision statement should be based on the best possible outcome. Actually, an organization might want to envision something even better than what is considered to be the best possible outcome.

In the journey to achieve a vision statement that describes the best or better than best possible outcome, the quality factor plays a vital role. The quality of any vision determines the creativity, quality and originality of an organization’s ideas and solutions. A powerful vision statement should stretch expectations and aspirations.

Some people may object to the use of such an optimistic or unrealistic vision statement because others may consider it a failure when they fall short of the best possible outcome, even if they meet all the goals/objectives. But this situation should not be described this way, instead it should mean that the vision has not been achieved yet and there’s still room for improvement.

It’s important to remember that the purpose of the vision statement is not to serve as a "real" target that you are going to measure against to determine if you have succeeded or failed. You should use your goals and objectives to do that. Instead, the purpose of the vision statement is to open your eyes to what is possible.

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.” I believe this is true in many respects because while knowledge allows you to see things as they are, imagination allows you to see things as they could be.

When we become aware of what is possible, we begin to realize that dreams can be achieved, that challenges can be conquered, and that problems can be solved. In doing so we open up a completely new set of avenues, possibilities, horizons, which by itself is a tremendous source of passion and energy.

As Les Brown puts it, "Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss, you'll still be among the stars."

It should be Emotional
The vision statement should describe how the organization will feel when the outcome is realized. Including an emotional factor in the vision statement gives the vision, passion, which will make it even more compelling, inspiring, and energizing.