Everything starts with a dream. But a dream without action still remains a dream – a castle in the air. Therefore, your dream must be powerfully inviting to inspire action. And so, go a company’s vision and mission.
Vision and mission statements communicate what the business is all about, what it strives to achieve in the future, and how it will get there. Although they are interconnected, it is important to delineate what makes a vision differ from a mission statement.
A vision is the company’s desired state in the future, an aspiration articulated positively; it is meant to inspire and give hope to every member of the organization. A well-crafted vision has the following characteristics:
- Broader in its scope and perspective
- Long-term and future-oriented
- Shared and understood by members of the organization
- Inspiring and uplifting members to be involved
- Easy to communicate and shared
On the other hand, a mission statement expresses a more concrete set of actions, of what to do and why it must be done. It gives focus and direction to the members of the organization. A well-crafted mission has the following characteristics:
- Breaks down broad dreams into a set of specific and actionable steps
- Enumerates specific goals for a specific group of people in the organization
- Defines specific focus areas for a specific group or team
- Articulates strategic goals into more practical goals
While vision and mission are both short, simple statements, the vision is broader, more abstract, and future-oriented, while the mission is more concise, clear, and outcome-oriented.
Why are vision and mission important to any organization? Firstly, it allows the organization to focus on what matters to them, what is significant, and what is really important for the entire organization. Second, it allows the organization to visualize what it intends to accomplish. Finally, it provides members with guidance and a common purpose – of what they do and why they do it.
Maybe you can take time to rethink your company’s vision and mission. Is your vision still relevant and do your people still believe in it? Is your mission still appropriate, yielding the outcome you want to see? If yes, then, both vision and mission still serve their purpose. But if you say no, maybe, it’s time to calibrate them.
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