Four Rules for Writing Winning Vision Statements

1. Take any successful business you know, including yours, and place it in Baghdad. How's it going to do? What would make your community a better place to live?
A winning vision statement addresses the environment of the organization -- the communities it serves -- and what should be better so the organization can excel.

2. When the world that your employees, volunteers, and customers live in is a better place, they will all positively impact your business. A vision is not projection of trends, nor a projection of your growth, for example. A vision does not include platitudes about the good things that already exist; yes we want to perpetuate them, but conditions that require improvement to achieve will inspire the organization more.
A winning vision statement is a set of ideals & desired conditions of how we want to see things improved.

3. Putting numbers in a vision only makes it too concrete, too practical to be motivational. Nobody really cares if you reach milestones of growth; people care more about making a true difference for others.
A winning vision statement contains no numbers although, it may use a percentage to relate a degree to which a major issue (hunger, racial tension) is resolved.

4. Since most organizations' so called "strategic planning" have so long been bogged down at the level of long-range business planning, it may be practical to take their vision horizon up in stages from 5 to 10 to 20 to 30 years.
A winning vision statement paints a picture of life more than 30 years hence. The words used to describe it make it possible for everybody to see it in their minds, and desire it.

With a lofty vision (ends policy) to look toward, management has the direction it needs to develop business plans (means policies) to make that journey. It will become clearer what other organizations and businesses to align with, partner with, and contribute to.