Vision

The impact the brand aspires to make on the world

Vision is the reason the brand goes on when the work gets hard.

Vision describes the change a brand aspires to bring about in the world: the future state it is working toward. It is distinct from mission (what we do now) and purpose (why we exist). A compelling vision is ambitious enough to be inspiring and concrete enough to orient real decisions. It gives the brand a horizon to aim for, beyond the next product launch or financial quarter.

The weakness of most vision statements is that they are written to impress rather than to guide. 'A world where everyone thrives' or 'the future of X' are common placeholders that lack the specificity to actually drive strategy. A vision that works is one that people inside the organization can use to evaluate whether a given path is moving toward it or away from it.

How strong brands handle it

The same building block, handled well. These are approaches and illustrations from how brands tend to work, not rules, and never a ranking of companies.

Ambitious and concrete

Microsoft's early vision ('a computer on every desk and in every home') was ambitious enough to seem impossible in 1975 and specific enough to direct every product decision toward a concrete goal.

Shared internally

Brands where the vision is genuinely internalized (not just posted on a wall) tend to make more coherent decisions because teams have a shared frame of reference for what the brand is ultimately trying to accomplish.

Revisited over time

Visions need to evolve as context changes and as organizations make progress. Brands like Tesla have iterated on their articulation of the future they are building toward as the company and the market has shifted.

Questions to explore

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

What is the change we want to see in the world as a result of what we do, and have we stated that clearly?
Is our vision ambitious enough to be inspiring, and specific enough to orient real strategic decisions?
Do the people in our organization know and believe in the vision, or is it something only leadership refers to?
How does our current roadmap or strategy connect to the vision: what are we doing in service of it?
If we achieved our vision in twenty years, what would the world look like differently?

Things to notice

A vision that sounds inspiring but cannot be connected to actual decisions or strategy is just decoration.
Confusing vision (where we are going) with mission (what we do) or values (how we behave) creates confusion about what each concept is supposed to do.
Visions that position the brand as saving the world can feel grandiose if the product is modest: the vision should be proportional to the brand's actual scale and ambition.