enVISION STATEMENT

Chevron

"to be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance"

AT& T

"we aspire to be the most admired and valuable company in the world.."

Most company vision statements are crafted as an aspiration to a certain position or reality in the future. This is somewhat a departure from what a vision statement should really be. To give a rather simple and literal definition of a vision statement, it should be a description of what you see yourself as sometime in the future.

For me a vision statement envisions you/your company at some point in the future; ideally, a vision statement should read as an introduction of yourself/your company at that point in time in the future. While the practice is to describe what you hope to become, I am convinced that we should rather affirm what we are (in the future).

Examples of this kind of vision statement abound in the bible, here are a sampling;

1. Let the weakling say 'I am strong'
2. Ye are the light of the world
3. Neither shall thy name anymore be called Abram; but thy name shall be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee.

The weakling is not to say "I aspire to be strong", he/she is to affirm their vision of the future The concept is that you call the things that be not, as though they are.

So if I were to help Chevron and AT&T rephrase their vision statements, it will sound something like this;

Chevron

the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance.

AT&T

the most admired and valuable company in the world.

These sure beat those aspirational stuff anyday. Don't just aspire, affirm!