Mission and Vision Statements: Why they're important and how to come up with them.

“A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power” -? Brian Tracy

Welcome back. As usual, it’s me, Matt. Today, we’ll be touching on something a bit different: your company’s mission and vision statement.

And before you wonder, yes, they are important. For you to consistently move the needle when it comes to progress and growth, you need to have some goals and guidelines set out beforehand. These statements do exactly that for you.

Let’s see how this works.

?“Hold on. What’s the difference between both?”

Well, your vision statement is long-term. It’s where you want to see your company in the future. It’s your eventual goal.

Your mission statement is more short-term. It’s more focused on the things that will help you fulfill your long-term goals.

If your vision statement is “To help sustainably populate remote deserts in hot climates”, your mission statement could vary from “developing innovative desert agriculture techniques to enable self-sustaining communities” to “providing affordable and energy-efficient housing solutions for desert regions”.

Your vision statement is long-term. Hence, it’s broad, general and is more like a goal.

Your mission statement, because it’s short term, outlines how you’re working TOWARD your vision statement. Hence, it reflects what you’re doing to get there.

Now that we’re clear on what they are and why we have them…

Let’s see why they’re important and how you can come up with effective statements for yourself.

?“Yeah. Why do they matter? Sounds like a lot, trying to figure out long-term stuff.”?

Well, there are lots of reasons.

Let’s see things from a corporate point of view.

What's a better way to communicate your company's goals to investors and shareholders than giving them an executive summary? Having two statements, explaining what you're doing now and what you're aiming to achieve in the future.

It shows that you’ve thought things through and have made sure that your company is goal-oriented. And that’ll reflect in whatever you do. Whether it’s working on shorter life cycles for product development, or something else, you’ll be able to show that everything that’s being done is simply another step toward your eventual goal.?

” Hmm. Okay. What about the team? How do they benefit here?

Well, they get a sense of direction as well. That whatever they’re doing goes beyond financial remuneration. That they’re playing a part in something much bigger.

And that helps bring people together. Whether it’s your C-level executives or your HR team, everyone will probably have at least one thing in common: the feeling that their actions matter, regardless of what they’re doing.

Their company having corporate goals will give them a major morale boost. It’ll give them meaning in whatever they’re doing. It'll help them work to higher standards.

?And so much more.

From motivating and inspiring them because they’re able to understand and align with the company’s core values to acting as a high-level guide for all the decision-makers, there’s a lot those statements can do.

However, that’s because a lot of effort goes into coming up with them.

Let’s see how you can do the same. So, ask yourself four questions:

Firstly, what is your core focus?

What is the one big thing that you’ve set out to achieve? What’s the one thing that you’re going to go for, regardless of whatever obstacles stand in your way?

Then, how is what you’re doing different?

Or, in other words, what is your unique selling point (or USP) that sets you apart in the market?

And then, what’s the who, what, and where of your company in the future?

Who will your company target as their ideal customer? What is the one thing that it’ll stand for, above everything else? Where do you see your company in the next few years?

And lastly, and most importantly, what’s the one-year target to move the needle towards that?

This is where you’re going to get your mission statement. It’ll center around the core reason for your business even existing in the first place. That’s important because it’s going to help everyone relate and make meaningful progress.

Let’s go over an example.

Suppose you’ve got a travel company. Your mission statement could be “To curate bespoke travel experiences that exceed expectations, inspire adventure, and create lifelong memories.”

Your vision statement? “To be the leading luxury travel provider, delivering unparalleled experiences in the world’s most sought-after destinations.”

The mission statement reflects what you’re doing right now. Your vision statement states what you want to be in the future. How you aspire to turn out over time.

And…that’s it.

Sure, it’s not as simple as simply answering a couple of questions and getting two two-liners that you can pass off as your vision and mission statements, include them in your corporate culture, and be sure that they’ll be accepted.

It’s a process. And, just like any other process, it takes time, multiple iterations, tweaks, suggestions, and reviews to get things perfect. However, focus on getting started. Perfection will come later.

As usual…

If there's any way I can help,? let me know and we’ll see what we can do.

Until next time, Keep building,