Be honest with yourself. As an entry level employee did you fully understand the difference between your corporate mission and vision statements? Did you even know what your organization's mission and vision statements were?
I don't know if a mission or vision statement even existed for the first three companies I worked for after college. No one in a position of authority ever bothered to share them with me, and I was too green at that point in my young career to think of asking.
How naïve of me. But how ignorant of them.
A mission statement illustrates a business' goals and purpose. It has one common function: to guide you and your employees in making critical decisions that effect the direction of your company. Every employee in an organization from the top down should know the corporate mission.
Disney has one of the shortest mission statements I've ever read, but also one of the best: "To make people happy". This mission statement couldn't be any easier to understand, both internally and externally.
While a mission statement proclaims what you want to achieve as an organization, a vision statement asserts what you need to accomplish in order to achieve it.
For example - Coca Cola's mission statement (what they want to achieve):
•To refresh the world...
•To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
•To create value and make a difference.
Coca Cola's vision statement (what they need to accomplish in order to fulfill the mission):
•People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.
•Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.
•Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.
•Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities.
•Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.
•Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.
Coca Cola's mission and vision statements are very complementary. They don't believe one can be achieved without the other.
Having both a vision and a mission statement is of critical importance to an organization. But if the statements aren't complementary, and aren't shared with internal and external stakeholders, what's the point? Your employees will begin working in silos and your customers won't understand the value of your company.
Most organizations tend to spend more time focusing on the strategic plan than they do on the mission and vision statements. But while also of obvious critical importance, if the strategic plan isn't designed to serve the mission and vision statements, the plan will become nothing more than a document full of independent "tasks".
A strong business regularly reminds its employees and customers of its vision and mission, or it runs the risk of becoming unfocused and losing its identity. And nothing will destroy a company faster than one that doesn't know who it is.
How naïve of me. But how ignorant of them.
A mission statement illustrates a business' goals and purpose. It has one common function: to guide you and your employees in making critical decisions that effect the direction of your company. Every employee in an organization from the top down should know the corporate mission.
Disney has one of the shortest mission statements I've ever read, but also one of the best: "To make people happy". This mission statement couldn't be any easier to understand, both internally and externally.
While a mission statement proclaims what you want to achieve as an organization, a vision statement asserts what you need to accomplish in order to achieve it.
For example - Coca Cola's mission statement (what they want to achieve):
•To refresh the world...
•To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
•To create value and make a difference.
Coca Cola's vision statement (what they need to accomplish in order to fulfill the mission):
•People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.
•Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.
•Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value.
•Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities.
•Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities.
•Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.
Coca Cola's mission and vision statements are very complementary. They don't believe one can be achieved without the other.
Having both a vision and a mission statement is of critical importance to an organization. But if the statements aren't complementary, and aren't shared with internal and external stakeholders, what's the point? Your employees will begin working in silos and your customers won't understand the value of your company.
Most organizations tend to spend more time focusing on the strategic plan than they do on the mission and vision statements. But while also of obvious critical importance, if the strategic plan isn't designed to serve the mission and vision statements, the plan will become nothing more than a document full of independent "tasks".
A strong business regularly reminds its employees and customers of its vision and mission, or it runs the risk of becoming unfocused and losing its identity. And nothing will destroy a company faster than one that doesn't know who it is.
