Vision Statement/Mission Statements
Maya Angelou said, “My mission in life is to not only survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” What a great example of a vision statement.
If you are not familiar with what a ‘’Vision Statement’ is remember, a vision statement is a document that states the current and future objectives of an organization. The vision statement is intended as a guide to help the organization make decisions that align with its philosophy and declared set of goals. This is not only for a business it’s for an individual even a family.
There is a difference between a ‘Mission Statement’ and a ‘Vision Statement.’ A Mission Statement defines the company's business, or individuals or family and its objectives, and its approach to reach those objectives. A Vision Statement describes the desired future position of all three. Elements of Mission and Vision Statements are often combined to provide a statement of purposes, goals, and values.
Now, if you run a business, where do you see it in the next year, five or ten years? The same question should be asked about yourself, or your family.
When creating a vision statement, it should be concise, no longer than a sentence or two. It is recommended you want to be able to quickly repeat it and, more importantly, understand it. A vision statement needs to be more than a catchy tagline. It needs to be easily remembered.
As an example, Apple’s corporate vision is, “to make the best products on earth and to leave the world better than we found it,” short, sweet, and to the point. To create a vision statement in a business brainstorm with your team for when it is done the team will feel ownership and work to produce the results you strive for. The same holds true with your family, get the entire family to put in their thoughts and when you all agree, your family, as with your business, should be on a path to success. A vision statement gets all the members of the group rowing the boat in the same direction.
An individual creating a vision statement is looking for the same result however since you don’t have a team, bring people that are close to you together, or find a professional counselor to guide you.
Often, from your vision statement, your mission statement can be formed. Your professional or personal mission statement should be a short summary of your company's (family’s or personal) purpose. The best mission statements are guidelines by which a company (family or the individual) operates. Everything you do should work toward your mission statement. Most mission statements are between one and three sentences, never exceeding 100 words. Apple’s mission statement says, “to bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.” Short, sweet, and to the point.
In the business world a mission statement must address customer service because, without customers, you have no business. One area that is both cost-efficient and effective is your phone. How phone calls are handled can have a major effect on your business. As an example, when, a customer is placed On-Hold what do they hear? Are they hearing a radio, music, beeps, or just silence? If so, statistics tell us, they will abandon the call within 30 seconds, yet, with a custom On-Hold message, they will stay on the phone for four to five minutes.
Since 1987 HoldMasters has been helping both Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop businesses, and home-based businesses, around the nation increase their ROI with custom On-Hold-Messages. It can up-sell and cross-sell present clients and inform prospects of your business and philosophy and helps keep the emotional connection alive. It makes a small business sound big and a big business sound friendly.
Let HoldMasters help you when your business is on the line.