Vision, Mission, Culture: The Heartbeat of a Business
Vision, mission, and culture statements are essential because they provide clarity, direction, and alignment for a business. Vision is how we see our world in the future. Mission is the action we will take to accomplish our vision. Culture is how we need to be in the world in order fulfill our mission. Together, these statements create a strategic foundation that helps businesses stay focused, attract the right audience, and build a lasting impact.
One is not more important that the others. Many people fail to write down and memorize their business’s vision, mission, and culture. This is a huge mistake because it makes it impossible to stay aligned with the reason you are in business or are going into business. It is like swimming in the Pacific Ocean a thousand miles away from any land. You will end up swimming endlessly without direction. How long do you think you can keep running a business like that? Probably as long as you can tread water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Writing a vision, mission, and culture may seem very daunting and difficult. If you depend on an Internet search you might get completely overwhelmed and confused. There is so much information available and so many ways of explaining and defining all these statements. Some companies combine vision and mission. Sometimes different words are used such as ethics and values instead of culture. There seems to be a big secret behind them and people do not want to publish them afraid their idea will be taken or embarrassed that their idea will be laughed at or criticized. So many questions resonate in our heads:
· How long must a vision be?
· What is the difference between a mission and vision?
· What if I want to change them?
· Culture, I have never heard of that before.
· What is a culture statement?
· When should I write these?
· How do I start?
The answers to the last two questions are to start now, write now. The length of a vision, mission, and culture varies from business to business and is not something you want to get caught up on. There are some guidelines, but they are just guidelines. As stated before, a vision is how we see our world in the future, a mission is the action we will take to accomplish our vision, and a culture is how we need to be in the world in order fulfill our mission. Once you have your vision, mission, and culture written there should not be a reason you want to change them unless you get into business, and you find your business takes on a whole new personality that warrants change. Making too many changes too often will put you back into the middle of the Pacific Ocean swimming aimlessly. When you live your passion and stay aligned with your passion there should not be a reason to change your vision, mission, and culture. What you can and should make changes to is your business plan. That is the living document that keeps your business flexible, fluid, and able to make the changes that will keep you aligned.
Here are some examples of vision and mission statements from companies we are familiar with.
Ted
Vision: We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.
Mission: Spread ideas.
Vision: To create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.
Mission: To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.
Uber
Vision: Smarter transportation with fewer cars and greater access. Transportation that’s safer, cheaper, and more reliable; transportation that creates more job opportunities and higher incomes for drivers.
Mission: Uber’s mission is to bring transportation — for everyone, everywhere.
Ferrari
Vision: Ferrari, Italian Excellence that makes the world dream.
Mission: We build cars, symbols of Italian excellence the world over, and we do so to win on both road and track. Unique creations that fuel the Prancing Horse legend and generate a “World of Dreams and Emotions.”
GoDaddy
Vision: We will radically shift the global economy toward small business by empowering people to easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures.
Mission: We are here to help our customers kick ass. We do that by living our strategy and ruthlessly prioritizing our work to create simple elegant technology that delights our customers – all while delivering service that is second to none. Every single day, we join forces across teams and groups to break down barriers, build new markets and stare down the impossible until the impossible blinks.
Whole Foods
Vision: Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet
Mission: Whole Foods Market is a dynamic leader in the quality food business. We are a mission-driven company that aims to set the standards of excellence for food retailers. We are building a business in which high standards permeate all aspects of our company. Quality is a state of mind at Whole Foods Market.
Rosnik Consulting, LLC
Vision: To promote sustainable economic growth for companies to become and remain at the top of their industries.
Mission: We are the innovators of the modern-era business-building process. We are our clients’ most trusted consultants and coaches by consistently exceeding expectations and bringing the highest value to each venture.
Culture:
Provide the highest quality service to our clients by combining highly skilled team members with our proven methodology.
Strive to support our projects with the most advanced technology to ensure we take advantage of the efficiency and accuracy that it offers.
Consistently improve our deliverables to our clients and add value to their organization.
Forge lasting relationships with our clients by listening to and addressing their needs in a manner that will allow them, as well as us, to be successful.
Support our team in a way that fosters learning, growth, and recognition for superior performance.
Operate profitably to support our future endeavors.
Let’s get started!
Vision
Vision is how you see our world in the future. A vision is the why, the what, the tomorrow, and the noun.
Vision is where you express how you see the world in the future. For example, you want to open a clothing store. Now imagine what the world would look like, feel like, or act like if everyone bought your line of textiles. Your vision might be, “To give people the freedom of comfort and expression.” Let’s get some ideas written down. Read the following questions out loud, close your eyes for a couple seconds and envision your answer, and then write down every thought that comes to mind.
1. What do you see your client, customer, or patient doing with your service or product?
2. Why do you see your client, customer, or patient feeling the way they do with your service or product?
3. What do you believe your client, customer, or patient is seeking when they use or buy your service or product?
4. Why do you believe your client, customer, or patient has changed because of your service or product?
Now you have your perfect future world vision. Take the prevalent themes, words, and ideas and combine them into a sentence or even a couple of sentences. You have seen examples of visions that contain several formats. Write down at least ten different versions of your vision.
Read through your various versions. Is there one that stands out the most? One that gives you chills or melts your heart? Circle your most inspiring answer, choose a couple if you must and let’s move onto your mission.
Mission
A mission is the action you need to take to accomplish your vision. A mission is the how, the who, the where, the when, the today, and the verb.
Mission is where you declare how you will create your future world, your vision. Let’s look at the clothing store. Its vision is “To give people the freedom of comfort and expression.” How will you get that done? A possible mission statement might be, “Through daily innovation and creativity our textiles will offer customers worldwide a wide array of styles and colors while allowing freedom of movement, a comfort that feels like home whether at work or in leisure.” Let’s get some ideas written down. Read the following questions out loud, close your eyes for a couple seconds and envision your answer, and then write down every thought that comes to mind.
1. Who are your clients, customers, or patients that would benefit from your service or product?
2. How do you want your client, customer, or patient using your service or product to feel?
3. When do your clients, customers, or patients use or buy your service or product?
4. Where are your clients, customers, or patients who need your service or product?
Now you have your perfect mission to make your vision a reality. Take the prevalent themes, words, and ideas and combine them into a sentence or even a couple of sentences. You have seen examples of missions. Write down at least ten different versions of your mission.
Read through your various versions. Is there one that stands out the most? One that gives you chills or melts your heart? Circle your most inspiring answer, choose a couple if you must and let’s move onto your culture statement.
Culture
A culture is how you need to be in the world in order fulfill your mission. It is your values that you live by. Your business is a reflection of you. Your culture is very important. Without a well-defined culture statement your employees may not align with your values. They will not be able to fulfill your vision or maintain your mission. For example, if you are a plant-based organization and you hire a person who has not consumed anything but meat and leather products s/he will not understand your culture. Likewise, using the clothing company’s example, if your employee believes they can only shop at high-end starchy clothing companies they will not understand how comfort and expression fit into a professional world. In other words, you cannot create, believe in, or sell something you do not understand, like, or get on board with.
Ask yourself what core values drive your life. Here is an example to consider while drafting your culture. Keep in mind this is a very detailed culture. Your culture can be a couple of sentences or very detailed. It is ultimately up to you. Remember as you consider all your values that you want your business to live by you are requiring those who work with your business to have the same values. Here is an example of a detailed culture statement:
Company believes that continuously striving to excel at the following core set of values will lead to long-term profitability, growth, and enhanced ability to serve our clients.
· Act with Honesty and Integrity. We take personal responsibility for our standard of behavior and for the decisions we make every day. Honesty and Integrity must always be at the core of those decisions. Both of these attributes are held in the highest regard at our business and will always guide us to “Do the Right Thing.”
· Constantly Focus on Quality. Quality is paramount to our business. We work toward producing the highest quality work, both in the field and within our offices.
· Provide Professional Excellence. Providing Professional Excellence to our clients is at the root of what we do. Continually improving our skills and knowledge base allows us to deliver on this core value. By constantly providing professional excellence and continually improving our abilities, we create the opportunity to advance our business as a leading consulting company.
· Promote a Cooperative Team Environment. Our goal is to collaborate with all team members associated with our projects including clients, partners, subcontractors, sub-consultants, vendors, regulatory authorities, and employees. Working in such an environment allows us to make informed and efficient resolutions to even the most complex issues.
· Respect for our Clients, Partners, Vendors, and Subcontractors. Treating others with respect allows us to demonstrate the professionalism that is expected by co-workers and clients. Respect helps to facilitate and encourage a cooperative team environment and collaboration that is necessary to provide excellent service to our clients.
· Cultivate Long-Term Relationships with our Clients. We believe that every project is an opportunity to develop a long-term relationship with our clients. By constantly delivering what we provide and adhering to our core values, we forge long-term relationships that provide ongoing work throughout time.
Your culture doesn’t need to be long and detailed. However, keep in mind when you are hiring and building a team, the more specific you can be the more likely you will attract the kind of employee, contractor, or freelancer you are seeking. Write down the values and start developing your culture. Here are some additional questions to ask:
1. Who are the people I want to work with?
2. What are the people like whom I can trust with my vision and mission?
3. How do I expect the people who are a part of my business to be?
Gather all those answers and put your culture on paper.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You now have a very strong draft of your vision, mission, and culture. Your vision will help paint a picture of the future your business aims to create. It inspires employees, stakeholders, and customers by setting long-term aspirations. Your mission defines what your business does and why it exists. It serves as a guiding principle for daily operations and decision-making. Your culture establishes the values and behaviors that shape how your team interacts and operates. It fosters a strong, cohesive work environment.
Your strong vision, mission, and culture statement will promote sustainable economic growth for your company to become and remain at the top of your industry.
