your statement may trickle down into operational misunderstandings that will hinder your success. The strategic vision of a company should be ambitious, but also realistic. For example, if you want to become number one in your industry, but the current market leader has ten times your annual revenue, that’s a significant hurdle to overcome. The amount of effort and resources required to surpass them likely isn’t feasible in just a few years, so you might adjust your goals to focus on improving market share or beating competitors with revenues reasonably above your own. Your mission statement should always act as a guide for both your operational and strategic efforts. When developing your strategic vision statement, ensure that whatever goal and verbiage you choose doesn’t go against your mission. Misaligned statements can result in conflicting actions within the organization, negatively impacting company culture and even financial performance (n.d., Goggin). One element that a strategic vision has in common with a mission statement is the ability to guide and inspire those within the organization. The difference lies in how each statement accomplishes these feats: While your mission influences general decision-making among employees, your strategic vision helps leaders devise specific actions to reach your desired goals. Depending on the type of business you operate, you may need to change your strategic vision from time to time. Accepting this fact goes a long way in ensuring your organization is more agile and adaptable. For example, many for-profit companies must consider evolving market conditions in their strategic planning, which may require adjusting the strategic vision annually. In contrast, a local government may only change its strategic vision every five or even 10 years. Strategic vision statements consistently move the organization forward in line with your mission. And because a vision can only be realized with the help of your entire workforce, sometimes the strongest statements are crafted with input from everyone, at all levels—not just leaders. With all employees invested and on board, you have a better
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