Vision & Mission. What comes to mind when you think of these words?

Confusion?

I think of those success pictures you see in corporate offices with something cheesy written on them. It doesn’t evoke warmth or anything personal, just cold and formal. Let’s dig into what exactly is a vision statement vs. a mission statement.

A vision statement according to Corporate Finance Institute, “describes what a company desires to achieve in the long-run, generally in a time frame of five to ten years, or sometimes even longer. It depicts a vision of what the company will look like in the future and sets a defined direction for the planning and execution of corporate-level strategies.

Writer Sean Peak from Business Daily News says it this way, “A vision statement is a written declaration clarifying your business’s meaning and purpose for stakeholders, especially employees. It describes the desired long-term results of your company’s efforts. For example, an early Microsoft vision statement was “a computer on every desk and in every home.”

“A company vision statement reveals, at the highest levels, what an organization most hopes to be and achieve in the long term,” said Katie Trauth Taylor, owner and CEO of Untold Content, a writing consultancy. “It serves a somewhat lofty purpose – to harness all the company’s foresight into one impactful statement.”

What is a mission statement?

According to Forbes.com, “ A mission statement not only explains what your company does, but also the why behind it.” Hubspot states that, “A mission statement is a simple statement about the goals, values, and objectives of an organization. A mission statement summarizes why a business exists and helps a company respond to change and make decisions that align with its vision.

This brief description helps customers, employees, and leadership understand the organization’s top priorities.

Successful businesses have vision and mission statements that are clear and connective. For example:

Mission statement examples:

SCORE

“Foster vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education.”

Etsy

“To keep human connection at the heart of commerce.”

American Express

“To become essential to our customers by providing differentiated products and services to help them achieve their aspirations.”

Life is Good

“To spread the power of optimism.”

Amazon

“Amazon's mission is to be Earth's most customer-centric company. This is what unites Amazonians across teams and geographies as we are all striving to delight our customers and make their lives easier, one innovative product, service, and idea at a time.”

Check out more here.

Vision statement examples:

LinkedIn: "Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce”
Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”

It’s super easy to get the concepts of vision & mission confused. I know I have in the past. I hope the information shared above clears things up for you. Check out the links below to help inspire you to create your own vision and mission statement.

Vision

https://www.brex.com/journal/vision-statement-examples

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/3882-vision-statement.html

Vision & Mission

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/inspiring-company-mission-statements

Mission

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/mission-statement-examples/

Check out more here

Keep IT Sunny~