Hi! managers: What is your vision statement?

Several of these also came up under Walt Disney's Mission Statement too. Online other people seemed to be confused by what Disney's Vision and Mission statements were (and not just Disney's). I looked at their last annual report, corporate website and company history and could not find it. This is probably why so many choices were found online. It's a good reminder that vision statements should be clear, and continuously referred to in corporate and internal communications. This also serves to reinforce and remind everyone, especially ourselves.

According to Wikipedia the connection between them are as follows:

Vision: Defines the desired or intended future state of a specific organisation or enterprise in terms of its fundamental objective and/or strategic direction. (Or, "I can see clearly")

Mission: Defines the fundamental purpose of an organisation or an enterprise, basically describing why it exists. (Or, "I know what we do")

Values: Beliefs that are shared among the stakeholders of an organisation. Values drive an organisation's culture and priorities.

These are inextricably linked, effectively in a pyramid. They all relate to and build on each other. Underneath these you would find the company strategy, which is perhaps a 12-month rolling timeline, leading to objectives or KPIs (key performance indicators), which are about six-month based.

A vision statement should be inspirational, establishing an emotional connection and the direction for the company for at least the next 5 to 10 years and possibly even longer. It is quite hard to establish a vision for such a distant horizon, however, it is imperative. Rather obviously if you don't know where you are going, you are unlikely to get there. According to David Mulvey of the Disney institute it should also:

Create a shared and meaningful purpose

Inspire passion and interest

Guide decision-making and strategy

Convey values

Some good inspirational vision statements:

Microsoft: "Create experiences that combine the magic of software with the power of Internet services across a world of devices."

Nike: "To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the World."

GE: "We bring good things to life."

Apple: "To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind."

Toyota: "Contributing to the development of a prosperous society through the manufacture of automobiles".

These are not just relevant to large companies. To practise, a great and very revealing exercise is to try and do a vision, mission, values and 12-month goals for yourself. What would your vision statement be? Oh, and Disney? It is "We make people happy".

Andrew MCBean is senior vice president of DTAC. Follow his article every third Monday of the month