Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.  ~Warren Bennis

I’ve noticed lately that a lot of organizational visions don’t seem all that visionary.  A vision that focuses solely on size (i.e., supersizing) is turning a means into an end.  For example, “Our vision is to be a $200 million organization by 2016.”  What’s visionary about that?  If that organization truly had a vision, then the outcome of that vision could result in increased revenues.  Size is an outcome of a vision; it’s a means not an end.

Three very different publications provide surprisingly similar definitions of a vision.  From Fast Company, Daniel Rasmus writes, “Visions should provide a sense of aspiration, they should stretch imagination.  They should describe the state of the organization, across its functions, not rush to summary.”  In Harvard Business Review, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras stated, “A well-conceived vision consists of two major components: core ideology and envisioned future.”  Psychology Today blogger Jennell Evans says, “A vision statement defines the optimal desired future state – the mental picture – of what an organization wants to achieve over time.”

I’m not suggesting that visions can’t “dream big.”  In fact, they really should dream big.  However, increased revenues or sales, without substance, isn’t aspirational, it’s egotistical.

Here’s an example how a vision statement can dream big, be aspirational, and revenues become a consequence instead of an end goal.  Zappos.com has grown exponentially, but their vision has never been to increase revenues.  Their current vision statement is: “One day, 30% of all retail transactions in the US will be online.  People will buy from the company with the best service and best selection.  Zappos.com will be that online store.”

Zappos.com also puts a tremendous amount of effort into managing its culture and the outcomes are staggering.  They have just over 1,200 US employees and in 2013 their voluntary turnover was 0%.  That’s not a typo, yes, really zero percent.  I believe that having a clear, aspirational, mental picture of the future plays a role in that level of employee retention.

David “Doc” Vik was a successful chiropractor before he started working with Zappos.  He now works with companies to help them build effective and motivational company environments.  He says there are five key components to building an empowering company culture.  First on his list: Define Your Vision.

Is your organization’s vision nothing more than supersizing your revenues?  Then dig deeper; find something aspirational that will drive you and your employees to achieve more than you thought possible.