On having a vision and being hellbent on it
Vision statements: “We are doing … and aiming to be the best in … and our customers are the most happy in …” Another generic vision statement made by a mediocre company because they have not thought through about what to say. Tasteless and useless.
Or so many online websites claimed within their advice on writing the perfect vision statement. It’s only about 2 sentences, or 50 words at most. And yet businesses are being so forefront about having that perfect saying. Why?
As an intern of a company, my task was to do research on writing a perfect vision statement. A few Google searches, interviews with my colleagues, and personal reflection, I (may or may not) have realized the intricacies of having such vision for myself and the company I was working at.
Why having a good vision statement is that important?
A good vision statement brings music to the ears of the employees. A great vision statement fires passion into all team members.
For long in the business community, vision statements are valued. It provides clear images of what a company can do and will do. It shines to all the stakeholders, the outsiders of the company, a sense of awe and clarity in which they learn of what the company is. It leads all new and old employees on a path of successful realization of what the company is built upon, as equals as “team members”. It is crucial to the leaders of the company, because it is the direct translation, the raw message that they can offer to show to the whole team. Because of its existence, unity is possible and success is almost guaranteed.
And this fact is proven too. A study finds that employees that find the vision statement meaningful are actively engaged in the company’s culture and image, as well as increased productivity by 19% more than average. That’s an extra 1/5th of work output from a few sentences alone! Willing participants mean that employees will consciously bring positive image of the company to the outer world, as well as be motivated to contribute more to the company.
Can personal vision be translated to the company’s?
All companies have their origins. Be it from a boy who used his mother’s recipe to develop a fast food giant 50 years later, or a woman who was frustrated for unable to send emails to her husband that they created a technology enterprise years later, they always begin with that spark of motivation from the original founders, with that determination that founders believe they will change the world one day with their hands. But one person’s desire to change the world using the method they’re most familiar with cannot make that far to a success story. A company is composed of many, many other individuals, all filled with personal hopes and dreams. How can they possibly have the same mindset as the founders?
Back to the story about me doing research on writing vision statement, it was an interesting process. Yes there are many research sites out that teach how to write a company vision, yet they all stop there. What about personal vision of each employee? Do they get assimilated, or going anywhere at all? Should a company handpick the ones that share the same vision direction, or shape newcomers’ into its vision?
I took this question and went to my company for interviews. The original founders’ visions were: To change the educational world through technology and amplify their impact through creating companies that can do the same as they do. They sound ambitious, and surely they have had years of experience and skills to back that up. And other internal developers are nonetheless on the same level of zeal and expertise. They are attracted by the founders’ vision because they themselves have similar mindsets about education. But what I wanted to know was the vision of each employee who was working there, even the other interns. Do we interns’ vision join the company’s after about one month working here?
Overwhelmingly, it’s a yes! Mostly of us are business students who look for experience before we go out there getting full-time jobs. It’s meant to be a kickstarter for us fledglings. Each of us has our own ambition and hope, yet all of us want to do one thing in common: to change the world. We don’t know how, but that’s how we want things to be years later. But after a month of working here, slowly, we are being motivated to be our best at work, having beers with our boss at Friday party nights, sharing foods at lunchtime each day. We start to have the same ambition to excel in the EdTech industry. We still want to change the world, but starting with education first.
Do a company need an eloquently-written vision statement?
Studies say yes. I say maybe.
For bigger companies, it is an absolute necessity. Not everyone in the company get to meet with the board of directors, and not all directors are great at making motivational speech. Vision statements are there to direct all the future inquires about how the company work and how they want their customers see their business.
But for startups, it’s a different matter. It’s a close knitted group of many talented hopefuls, a mesh of vibrant personalities that affect the group’s efficiency through mutual encouragement, unlike any office politics, a place where you turn around and simple tap someone’s shoulder for help, a chaotic environment where you find uncertainty everywhere you explore, but still have that beacon of ambition you’re originally signup for.
For startups, vision statement is not need to be written yet. It’s still there though. It is the reason we are still head-on through the difficulties of bringing the birth of new products, meeting like-minded partners, and satisfying interested customers. And like a circle of life, once we succeed at each small step, it continues to remind us of our original vision, forging us for a harder future ahead. Our own visions are still unique ones, but we can find a place for ours to contribute to the whole company’s vision without being assimilated into it.
And that’s how EdTech Foundry has trained us interns through. Big companies may bring us the feel of safety but so their impact of a single vision statement is lacking. It’s the sense of impending failure in the startup scene that keeps us on our feet, always striving to be better, and bolster our own ambition to naturally align with the company. Of course we can fail the whole thing, but like our boss, we can always pounce back up and jump into the fray once more, as long as our personal vision is not dulled and thus our united vision would not be dulled.
What can you learn from reading this story of mine?
Vision statements are important.
Duh … ?
As a Business student myself, sometimes I don’t really trust in what the books or the articles I read in schools, because I have not experienced first-hand the impact of such facts. You probably are a skeptic at one point too if you’ve spent at least 16 years in school like me. But trust me this statement is true.
Because you have to have a solid vision to avoid being on the verge of assimilation. And you need to have a flexible vision to contribute your own to the company.
And you need to have a headstrong vision should you decide to startup a company. And if you do happen to create one in EdTech industry, let us know.
