Former GE CEO and Chairman Jack Welch once said: “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

Sadly, many businesses have a vision that’s simply a bunch of words while others haven’t even bothered to create one. A company without a vision can be a bit like a boat without a rudder – without it, there’s no clear focus, there is no common purpose and there's a distinct lack of direction.

Lewis Gordon Pugh - a world-renowned athlete and global environmentalist - talks a lot about the importance of vision, at work and in one’s personal life. In his book “Achieving the Impossible” he relays a story about a prestigious law form that he worked for in London that lacked vision. “Never once did the senior partner come to us and say: “This is my vision. This is where I want to take the firm. And this is what I’d like you to do to help us get there.” ”In contrast, Pugh comments on his time in the British Special Air Services (SAS) where the organisation’s vision was blatantly clear and undisputable, with buy-in required from every member regarding their role, their purpose and their required contribution towards the overall mission.

MBA  graduates who embrace the concept of visionary leadership  should consider the importance of their own vision and values and those of the organisations they work for. Ideally, these should be aligned and compatible in order for them to be real and meaningful. Individuals who live out their vision and values with confidence in both their professional and personal lives are likely to enjoy a competitive advantage over those who either have none or are unclear about what these may be.

A company’s vision, values and mission statements should be a true reflection of the organisation's purpose, leadership  and integrity. From a top-down perspective each manager, division and team should invest time and thought into formulating their own vision for future growth and development. Each business area needs a true visionary leader to communicate, develop and grow the vision with passion and commitment.

Although a corporate vision statement should reflect an organisation’s future aspirations, it’s not a business strategy . It’s also not a marketing  strategy  or a branding one, although it should inspire and drive these. It’s also a lot more than just having powerful and well-written words framed in the reception area.

If you’re needing to create or develop a mission or vision statement for your business or for your life, look to some leading brands for inspiration to create something that’s realistic, clear, true and aspirational:

Amazon’s vision is to be earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.

Coca-Cola’s mission is to refresh the world, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness and to create value and make a difference.

Dell’s mission is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve.

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

Google’s mission is to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

Microsoft’s mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.

MTN’s vision is to be the leader in telecommunications in emerging markets.

Pick ‘n Pay’s mission: We serve. With our hearts we create a great place to be. With our minds we create an excellent place to shop.

SABMiller’s vision is to be the most admired company in South Africa ; a partner of choice, an investment of choice and an employer of choice.

Virgin-Atlantic’s mission is to grow a profitable airline, where people love to fly and where people love to work.

YouTube’s mission is to provide fast and easy video access and the ability to share videos frequently.

Visionary leaders need to be imaginative and bold strategic thinkers. In formulating or developing a vision or mission statement in a business, the vision needs to challenge people to be the best. It also needs to unite people through a shared sense of purpose.

Visionary leaders are often change agents, steering their teams and their organisations in a new direction if necessary, despite the difficulties they will face when forcing people out of their comfort zones and into new, uncharted territory. For this reason, vision and mission statements need to be dynamic, changing over time.

Whatever position you aspire to hold in business, to be an effective team leader it’s important for you to create a vision for your team, to own it and to drive it relentlessly.

Does everyone in your team know what the vision is, are they clear about their role and responsibility in living the vision and are they committed to achieving it?

International trade is the name of the game in today's business world. Understanding cultural differences can mean success or losing the deal at the first meeting. It can create a huge impact on your reputation and the way your business is viewed by the rest of the world.

Twenty years ago a Japanese businessman refused to deal with a female friend of mine who was working for the government on a large contract. He stated he would only deal with a man. We of course were outraged that his demands were met and she was replaced with a less qualified male to do the deal.

Much older and wiser now I recognize that to be successful internationally sometimes requires you put aside your own sensitivities and do what is necessary to close the deal. Was it really worth losing a multi-million dollar contract to insist someone conform to our views of equality of gender? Probably not.

There are cultural differences however that are worth losing a deal for. In some countries in the world it is culturally acceptable to use child labor. In other countries bribing government officials is seen as part of the normal course of a tendering process. While refusing to deal with these people will lose you the deal, your stance on human rights and corruption will enhance your reputation with other countries and benefit you more in the long run.

These two extremes aside there are many other important cultural differences which can and will impact on your international business success.

While western culture currently dominates the business world, the growing Asian markets are opening up rapidly. Many norms of body language accepted in the West convey the exact opposite of meaning in the east. Direct eye contact in the West is a sign of honesty whilst in many Eastern countries it is disrespectful. Can you picture the meeting where you are doing your utmost to make eye contact while your counterpart is trying equally hard to avoid it?

I made my first international business trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. My only thought in choosing my attire for the flight was the expected heat at my destination. Shorts and a t-shirt seemed like a good idea at the time.

For a woman traveling alone to a dominantly Muslim country I could not have chosen more inappropriately. I landed at 11.30pm and whilst it did not cause me any major problems the disapproval of the people around me was palpable. Dressed in a pants suit for my meeting the next morning everything went exceedingly well.

To make the connection essential for ongoing business relationships you must understand the culture of the people you are dealing with. As with everything first impressions count and you don't want to start by unknowingly showing disrespect to the people of the country you wish to deal with. The smallest details are important.

Even within the English speaking world you need to take care. American, English, Canadian and Australian cultures, whilst similar, all have their differences. A common language helps to break through cultural barriers and sort out misunderstandings but not making mistakes in the first place is a much better option.