Why Visions Are More Than Glossy Posters
- Dominique Giger
- Dec 18
- 7 min read
How Teams with Clear Direction Become Measurably More Successful
Your company’s vision is probably displayed on your website. But can you recite it by heart? More importantly: do your employees actually live it? In an era of increasing complexity, the ability to develop and communicate an authentic vision is becoming a decisive competitive advantage.
The Underestimated Psychological Anchor
Globalisation, disruptive technologies, volatile markets - today’s leaders navigate an environment of permanent uncertainty. In this context, the corporate vision evolves from a “nice-to-have” into a strategic anchor of security. Yet while almost every organisation has a formally articulated vision, most fail at the crucial point: is it truly lived?
Research provides clear answers. A comprehensive meta-analysis conducted by the University of Michigan, evaluating more than 900 studies, shows that leaders are on average responsible for 31 per cent of whether a team delivers high performance or not. The most important factor within these 31 per cent? The ability to develop and communicate a clear vision.
These figures surprise many executives. They mean that nearly one third of team success depends directly on leadership - and the majority of that on visionary capability. Additional studies published by Harvard Business Review demonstrate that teams with a clearly communicated vision work more effectively and report significantly higher job satisfaction.
Three Core Questions That Change Everything
An effective vision answers three fundamental questions - each with a direct impact on an organisation’s ability to act.
1. Why do we do what we do?
The answer to this question defines purpose - the reason for existence of an organisation or team. Take Amazon:“To be Earth’s most customer-centric company for four primary customer sets: consumers, sellers, enterprises, and content creators.”Interestingly, Amazon adapted its purpose when it entered the streaming business. The original formulation was:“To be the place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”
Compare this with Coca-Cola:“To refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, create value and make a difference.”Three appealing statements - but are they specific enough? Could virtually any beverage manufacturer not use these words?
The real question is: Is your purpose so concrete that employees can derive daily decisions from it?
A historical example illustrates the power of true specificity. In the 1950s, Sony formulated its mission as:“To change the poor-quality image of Japanese products worldwide.”A profit-oriented company that defined social responsibility as a core objective. The irony: today, Japanese products enjoy an excellent reputation for quality across the globe.
Even more radical was Ford around 1900:“To democratise the automobile.”At that time, cars were luxury goods for the elite. Ford turned them into a mass product - driven by a clear, simple vision that every employee could understand and implement.
2. What does success look like?
The second core question defines the future state. The American Red Cross offers a powerful example of how precisely this can be articulated:
“All people affected by disaster receive care, shelter and hope.”
“Our communities are ready and prepared for disasters.”
“Everyone has access to safe, life-saving blood products.”
“All members of our armed forces find support whenever needed.”
Note how success is defined concretely for each stakeholder group. No abstract buzzwords - but tangible, observable outcomes.
Sony stated in the 1950s:“In 50 years, our brand name will be as well known as any in the world and will stand for innovation and quality. ‘Made in Japan’ will mean something fine, not something poor.”This vision became reality.
Tesla follows a similarly concrete approach today:“We are building a world powered by solar energy, stored in batteries and transported by electric vehicles.”Clear, visual, measurable.
3. How must we act in order to be successful?
The third question defines values and operational guardrails. This is where the difference between rhetoric and reality becomes visible - because only lived values create impact.
A well-known negative example is Enron. Its walls displayed words such as “Respect, Integrity, Communication, Excellence.” The reality? Fraud on a multi-billion-dollar scale. Words without action are worthless - and dangerous.
A positive counterexample is Johnson & Johnson. Its Credo, written in 1943 by Robert Wood Johnson, defines clear priorities:
First responsibility: doctors, nurses, patients - all who use our products
Second responsibility: our employees as individuals
Third responsibility: the communities in which we live and work
Fourth responsibility: our shareholders
The Tylenol crisis of 1982 proved that Johnson & Johnson truly lives this credo. Seven people died from tampered medication. The response: immediate withdrawal of the product from the market - at a cost of several hundred million dollars. Employees were not laid off but reassigned. Trust in the brand was restored.
Apple formulates its operational principles with similar clarity:“We believe in the simple, not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make. We say no to thousands of projects so that we can focus on the few that are truly important.”
These are not marketing slogans. They are daily decision aids for thousands of employees.
From Theory to Practice: The Workshop Approach
How do you develop a vision that does not disappear into a drawer? A structured process has proven effective in practice.
Phase 1: The Vision Workshop
Start with a current-state analysis. Use images instead of words: each team member selects an image that represents the present situation. This visual method bypasses rational filters and opens space for honest emotions. Discuss together: where are we really?
Then shift to the future perspective: which image represents our vision? What does success feel like? Create two posters - “Today” and “Future” - and display them visibly in the team space.
Phase 2: Backcasting Instead of Forecasting
Start with the goal and work backwards. Which milestones must we reach? What needs to happen before that? This method, known in strategic management as backcasting, has been shown by research at the University of Cambridge to be significantly more effective than traditional forward planning.
Phase 3: The Values Workshop
Define together: which behaviours do we live? What rules apply within the team? Create visible team principles. The decisive point: only what is co-created will be supported.
The Role of the Leader: Three Critical Factors
1. Repetition
Repeat, repeat, repeat. Our brain is efficient - what is not regularly activated fades away. Only after repeated exposure does the team begin to internalise the vision.
2. Role Modelling
Leaders are role models. Values that are not lived immediately lose credibility.
3. Participation
People support what they help create. Employees must be allowed to take responsibility - not only for tasks, but for the vision itself.
The Invisible Success Factor: Consistency in Everyday Work
The greatest challenge is not formulating a vision, but implementing it daily. Integrate the vision into existing routines:
Weekly team meetings: Where are we? What have we achieved? What is the next step?
Customer feedback sessions: Share feedback with the team - positive and negative. Discuss improvements together.
Rituals of success: Celebrate milestones. This strengthens cohesion and motivates future challenges.
Automation only emerges through repetition. The goal is for employees no longer to consciously think about the vision - they act intuitively in alignment with it.
Regular Evaluation: Vision as a Living Document
Plan quarterly review sessions:
Which team norms do we actually live?
Which obstacles hinder implementation?
Do we need to adapt or add values?
The Benchmark: From Poster to Performance
The difference between a marketing vision and a lived vision can be measured.
Indicators of an effective vision:
Employees can explain the vision without hesitation
Strategic decisions are explicitly linked to the vision
New employees understand the vision within the first weeks
The vision is present in meeting rooms, not only on the website
Conflict resolution refers to defined values
Warning signs of an ineffective vision:
Leaders quote the vision differently
The vision is mentioned only in formal presentations
Decisions contradict the stated vision
Three Reflection Questions for Your Organisation
Three questions that reveal where you truly stand:
Why do we do what we do? Can your employees explain the purpose in one sentence? Is it specific enough to guide decisions?
What does success look like? Have you defined concrete success criteria for each stakeholder group? Are they measurable and understandable?
How must we act? Do your leaders live the defined values? Are there operational guardrails applied in daily work?
Summary: Vision as the Competitive Advantage of the Future
In an increasingly complex and volatile business world, an authentically lived vision is no longer a luxury - it is existential. It provides orientation when uncertainty dominates. It enables autonomous action in decentralised structures.
The question is not whether your organisation has a vision. The question is: can your employees recite it by heart? Do they make daily decisions based on it? And above all: do you, as a leader, embody what your vision stands for?
Those organisations that can answer these questions with “yes” will be ahead in the coming years - not despite, but precisely because of the challenges of our time.
About the Author
Dominique Giger, MSc (ETH Zurich), is an expert in Leadership Development and Change Management. With more than 18 years of experience supporting leaders and high performers, she combines a technical background in computer science with neuroscientific insights and practical coaching methodologies. She is a certified hypnotherapist and coach.
In her podcast Y-SHIFT: The Next-Level Mindset & Transformation Podcast, she regularly shares insights from modern psychology, neuroscience and leadership development.
References
University of Michigan - Meta-analysis on leadership effects
Harvard Business Review - Vision and productivity
University of Cambridge - Backcasting methodology
Amazon - Mission statement
Johnson & Johnson - The Credo
Sony - Corporate vision
Tesla - Mission and Impact Report
Apple - Company values
Ford - Historical archives
American Red Cross - Mission statement
Collins, J., & Porras, J. I. (1994). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. HarperBusiness
Sinek, S. (2009). Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. Portfolio
Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press
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