It is fundamental and valuable for any organisation to have a clearly defined and well written Mission & Vision. Both serve important, yet different roles as core elements of a strategic plan. There is a lot of confusion in management and employees when Mission & Vision are ambiguous.
What is a Mission Statement?
A Mission statement defines the present state or purpose of an organization, it answers questions about why an organization exists.
What is a Vision Statement?
A Vision statement defines the optimal desired future state – the mental picture – of what an organization wants to achieve over time. Provides guidance and inspiration as to what an organization is focused on achieving in ten or more years. Functions as the “north star” – it is what all employees understand their work every day ultimately contributes towards accomplishing over the long term.
It’s never too late for an organisation to define its Vision and Mission. Some even reinvent themselves through the strategic planning process, beginning with these two core elements. Different approaches for developing a Vision and Mission, including owner and top management interview, facilitated work groups discussion among organisation’s representatives, and employee survey. As Jack Welch, Chairman, General Electric said, “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
What about you and your organization? Do you know what your organization’s Vision and Mission statements are? Can you articulate them? If so, how have they impacted the strategy?