Vision Statements vs. Mission Statements

A couple of weeks ago I was with a group of executive coaches and facilitators who are part of The Alternative Board (TAB) from the U.S., CN, the UK and Venezuela. We were talking about Company Vision Statements and it became clear to us that there was a lot of confusion amongst business owners regarding Company Vision Statements and Mission Statements. So, here is a definition of a Vision Statement, a Mission Statement and what should go into a Vision Statement.

A Company Vision Statement provides the destination on the roadmap that tracks where you want your company to go. The Company Vision Statement is shared with all employees. A Vision is defined as 'An Image of the future we seek to create'.

A Mission is defined as 'Purpose, reason for being'. Defined simply "Who we are and what we do". So the Mission statement does not cover where you are going or where you want to take your company.

Vision Statements are difficult to write - they should short (100 words or less), clear, vivid, inspiring and concise without using jargon, complicated words or concepts. Successful Statements are memorable and engaging. Some companies will combine their Mission and Vision Statements into one. That becomes very confusing.

What should go into your Company Vision Statement? Here are a few ideas on what you can include in a Vision Statement. Remember, it needs to be short – 100 words or less.

• What market position do you want to achieve? Biggest in your market, the best in the market
  

• What does the company do or what do you want your company business to be? IT Consulting, Menswear, Transportation
  

• What markets do you want to do business in? Global, North America, Region, City
  

• Do you focus on any particular market segment? Business owners, Retail companies, Females, Elderly
  

• How do you want to treat your stakeholders, (customers, employees, vendors, etc.)? Open book management, Treat as a partner, Customer is always right, etc.
  

• Corporate culture. Welcomes and initiates change, Creativity-Innovation, Strong Teamwork
  

• You can add a mission if you have one (but as I mentioned that can get confusing). We do it right the first time at a great price

Writing your Company Vision Statement is important! I encourage you to work on it with your management team or other key stakeholders. Without a clear Vision Statement that everybody understands how do you know where you are going? Typically you don’t and you end up coming in with a different idea every week that you are sure will help you succeed. Planning is critical and without a written Vision Statement it is hard to put effective plans in place.

Share your Company Vision Statement by commenting on this post.