recognising that they are all working for a common cause.
Here are some examples of vision statements:
“Democratise the automobile”… Ford in the early 1900’s
“To become the world’s leading Consumer Company for automotive products and services”… Ford more recently
“A personal computer in every home running Microsoft software”… Microsoft
“To be the number one athletic company in the world”… Nike today
“Crush Adidas”… Nike in the 1960’s
It must be said that some people easily often confuse ‘Mission’ statements with a ‘Vision’ statements. For example when conducting research I founds that many websites out there claim that Nike’s vision is: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the World”, however this is clearly a ‘Mission’. Always remember that a vision statement is by definition something that you want to become, something you want to achieve, an alluring picture of a beautiful future – whereas a Mission statement is about why an organisation exists, defining its purpose (we will talk more about this soon).
When your vision becomes clear and a greater focus than your past, your future becomes more valuable than your past and great things begin to happen. Make the time to focus on your vision, create it into a detailed picture, and savour all the details. Do this and you will be rewarded a hundred fold more, than simply doing the work that your business does.
Mission
As referred to briefly above ‘Mission’ is all about explaining the ‘purpose’ for the business and defines ‘why we exist’. Unlike ‘Vision’ which is focused on the future look, shape and feel of an organisation, ‘Mission’ defines what a business is here to ‘do’ in the here and now.
In defining your company’s ‘Mission’, you should be answering the following questions:
Why does the business exist?
Who is our customer?
What are we committed to providing to our customers?
What promises are we making to customers?
What is our Unique Selling Proposition?
What wants, needs, desires, pains and problems do our products / services solve?
Mission statements are typically a paragraph long and certainly no longer than a page. They require time, thought and planning to really get to the heart of why the company exists. Most people discover that the process of developing the mission statement is as beneficial as the final statement itself. Going through the process will assist you is specifying the reason for what you are doing and clarify the motivations behind your business.
Some Tips For Developing Your Mission Statement
Involve those connected to your business. It helps to get the views of other people in seeing the strengths, weaknesses, and pitfalls you might miss. Make sure that you choose positive, supportive people who want to see you succeed.
Set aside time to develop your Mission statement. Even though the statement itself does not consist of many words, there is depth behind it, which requires exploration. It takes time to capture in words the organization’s heart and soul, which acts as a reference point to everyone, involved in the business.
Brainstorm. Throw down everything irrespective of how silly it might sound. After having exhausted all ideas then rationalise them to collate statement, which get to the purpose and then work on refining.
Use “rich descriptive words.” After you have captured the essence of what you are trying to communicate in your mission statement, continue to craft and polish it until it is the most vibrant and colourful expression of your purpose; after all this is what you are putting ‘out there’ to the world as to why the business exists.
Following are some Mission statement for high profile organisations:
“To produce high-quality, low cost, easy to use products that incorporate high technology for the individual. We are proving that high technology does not have to be intimidating for non-computer experts.” …Apple in 1984
“To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential’…. Microsoft today
“The purpose of the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is to earn money for its shareholders and increase the value of their investment. We will do that through growing the company, controlling assets and properly structuring the balance sheet, thereby increasing EPS, cash flow, and return on invested capital”…… Cooper Tyres
“We fulfil dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments”….. Harley Davidson
Mission statements are clearly important in providing direction and formalising purpose for a business organisation but they are underpinned by ‘Values’.
Values
The values of an organisation represent what is most meaningful to it and sets the ‘intent’ for the business. Values help identify commitment to standards and act as a compass for determining behaviour and conduct within an organisation, both between colleagues ‘in house’ and in front of customers and the ‘outside world’. Put simply they represent what your organisation ‘stands for’ and ‘believes in’.
As with Vision, values can sadly be dismissed as mere ‘puffery’ by some less than switched on business drivers. The truth is that Values actually set the standard for conduct across a business and reminds owners and senior staff of how to set the example and be congruent. As an example, if an organisation has as one of its key value ‘respect’, then shouting at a peer or making snide, underhand remarks would be far from upholding this value. People can easily sense incongruent behaviour, which at worst will be seen as hypocrisy so it is critical once values have been identified that these values are upheld in every exchange and transaction that takes place.
It is easy to see values in action throughout the recruitment process when statements are made about the organisation and enquiries are made of candidates to understand whether he or she shares the same values. This is one of the reasons why it is far better to be overt and quite clear about what the business values are. There can be no room for ambiguity when it comes to values. Values must be stated.
Values are a serious matter and must be genuine; they must be ‘lived up to’ by those who create them otherwise there will be a credibility crisis in the eyes of the employees who are supposed to live by them. There is nothing worse than the boss who preaches respect, demands respect and yet does not exhibit any. Values are a wonderful opportunity lost to many organisations because they are either not set with enough thought or are not made to be part of the daily affairs of the business.
For some clever business owners, Values have become real business drivers and played an important part in helping the organisation stand out. Take for example Virgin Blue Airlines who’s values are ‘Resourcefulness’, ‘Innovation’, ‘Caring’, ‘ Enthusiasm’,
