Vision, Mission and Values – Why You NEED to Have Them
If you are embarking on setting up a business, you will no doubt have come across the terms ‘vision, mission and values’ normally preceded by the word ‘statement’. You might believe these terms hold no value beyond being part of the bombardment you are no doubt facing of business jargon. You might also feel like you would be wasting your time trying to capture your vision in writing.
I have seen the real impact these statements can have for entrepreneurs and the businesses they then create and would like to take on the challenge of convincing you to invest some time into forming your own.
What is the difference between vision, mission, and values?
So let’s start at the beginning and define and differentiate these statements. Each one of them can play a distinct role when you are developing your business idea.
The Vision
The vision statement captures the overarching intention of the organisation. The big picture. The dream. But in just one sentence.
When developing the vision statement, try to answer this question:
“If you look 10 years into the future, and you accomplished all that you’d dreamed, what impact have you had?”
The thing to note when creating your vision statement is that it should be something that feels big and scary but you’d be proud if you achieved it. So if it’s not making your stomach churn, have another go.
For some inspiration, here are some examples of vision statements from brands you may be familiar with:
Nike
To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
* If you have a body, you are an athlete.
Toys ‘R’ Us
Our vision is to put joy in kids’ hearts and a smile on parents’ faces.
Oxfam
A just world without poverty.
Benefits of creating a vision statement:
Your vision will be the only element of your business that won’t change over the next few years and that provides you direction and focus
As you look to build a community and enrol people into the business, your vision will be what inspires them
Like a SatNav, having your destination in mind will help you make decisions to get you to where you want. You might re-route when you get lost or take a wrong turn, but you will always end up where you intended
Decision-making, especially as you begin to work with others, becomes easier as you use the vision to measure what to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to
The Mission
If the vision is the ‘what’, the mission statement is the ‘how’. How will you go about making your vision a reality?
When forming this statement you want to describe what the venture will do and how, for whom it does it for, and for what benefit.
For example:
Nissan
Nissan provides unique and innovative automotive products and services that deliver superior, measurable values to all stakeholders in alliance with Renault.
Make a Wish
We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
Many entrepreneurs, especially in the first few years, might find this statement a lot harder to capture. Why? Because a good founder will allow the ‘how’ to be flexible as they test out their idea and offer, molding it to the needs of the customer and other stakeholders.
So don’t worry if it’s hard to do at the beginning and if it continues to evolve over the years. The statements above would have changed and been messaged over and over to reflect the companies developments.
Your Values
A values statement describes what you as an organisation believe in and therefore how you might behave. These values will act as an internal moral compass that the team will share and act according to.
An example of a value statement:
Belonging - We aren’t looking for someone to fill a role and complete a task. We want to welcome someone into the GBC family who is passionate about our vision.
Contribution - Our team is self-motivated and entrepreneurial. We bring our full energy to creating innovative strategies and bring that same enthusiasm to doing the work.
Quality - We are ambitious and are looking for people who are driven to do things better to serve our community more powerfully
To build a strong team around you, be it employees, partner organisations, investors etc, make sure your values align. If you bring someone into the venture that has clashing values, you will face all sorts of problems that can be hard to overcome.
Lacking clarity and productivity?
If you want to set up a purpose-led business that’s thriving in 5 years’ time but you aren’t sure where to be focusing your energy each day, The Good Business Roadmap course is the answer.
With a clear focus on what actions to take and when, the course unlocks clarity and productivity that will see you build your business with a confidence you can’t even imagine yet.