Vision is to look into the future and to dream and imagine and perceive something great. A famous quote from the Bible is: "Without vision the people perish." In other words we ALL need to have a personal vision for our lives – something 'way out there' that we are constantly working towards.

Vision should get you out of bed in the morning. It brings purpose and meaning into your life. It gives you something to live for. It’s your dream for your future.

So start dreaming! And once you think you know what it is you want to achieve, it’s time to write a vision statement. This is a statement for all to see – something clear and concise that others will understand and help you to work towards. If you own a company, the vision should come from you – and infiltrate the entire organisation.

Once your people understand and buy into your vision they will become passionate about your cause too, so be sure to keep them involved every step of the way.

Here are ten questions you really need to ask yourself when writing down your vision:

1. What sort of customers/clients am I trying to attract?
2. What kind of turnover do what I want to achieve?
3. What exactly do I want to achieve?
4. What do I want my reputation to look like?
5. Where do I expect the company to be in three/five/ten years' time? Is this realistic?
6. Who do I need working for me?
7. What added value will they bring to the business?
8. When am I going to achieve all this by?
9. Do I need to invest in my own business development to see this ideal become reality?
10. How can this plan fail?

"It is awfully important to know what is and what is not your business."
Gertrude Stein

Vision is of the utmost importance; that said, it is only the beginning of the journey. Once you know what you want to achieve you have to put legs on it. This is when you need to come up with a 'mission statement'.

The vision statement defines your goals but the mission statement maps out how you are going to achieve them. The mission statement is therefore your business strategy and I'll be writing about this in my next article entitled 'Your Mission Statement'.