What should a mission and vision statement include?
SummaryA vision statement serves as your company's "North Star," motivating your team and guiding your organization as it grows. It's not something to take lightly—a good vision statement should be written collaboratively by multiple company stakeholders and will require a significant time investment. Here we've broken down the elements of a great vision statement as well as instructions on how to write one and a few examples to inspire your writing. Show
When you start a business, it's important to have a strong set of founding principles upon which to build your company. In addition to a mission statement and company values, and motto, you also need a compelling vision statement to guide your business into the future. The vision statement is designed to inspire employees, compel investors, and engage the imaginations of your customers. It paints a picture of your company's future and the impact you want your business to have on the world. It takes work and creativity to write an inspiring vision statement. Here, we'll break down the elements of a great vision statement, guide you through the process, and walk through a few examples of excellent vision statements and explain what makes them great. Improve team collaboration with Asana What is a vision statement?A vision statement is your company’s guiding beacon. It zooms out to give perspective on the overarching reasons for your company's mission. Rather than articulating the specifics of your business operations, the vision statement describes how your company seeks to impact and improve the world around it. Vision statement vs. mission statementWhile both statements help define your company's character and personality, there are some key differences between a vision statement and a mission statement. The mission statement describes what your company does in the present. It's comprised of three parts: what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. A vision statement outlines the company's long-term goals and aspirations for the future in terms of its long-term growth and impact on the world. Your mission defines what your organization does and what you stand for, while your vision statement speaks to your goals and ideals for the future. Characteristics of a great vision statementVision statements are like snowflakes—each one is unique to its company in length, form, structure, and scope. Your vision statement should reflect your company's personality. However, there are a few traits that all great vision statements share. No matter how unique a statement is in terms of size, shape, or structure, a good vision statement should be: AmbitiousThe purpose of a vision statement is to inspire employees, investors, and customers to believe in your company's mission. Great vision statements are aspirational and ambitious. They convey a sense of passion for the ideal future toward which the company is working. FeasibleThough your vision needs to be ambitious in order to be inspiring, it shouldn't be so far out of reach that it feels impossible. You want to choose something that your company will have to strive for, but a completely unattainable goal isn't a vision—it's a fantasy. Read: How to set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) to do the impossibleBroadA vision statement connects your company mission to your goals, but it isn’t a goal in and of itself. If your vision statement feels too finite or specifically achievable, try to zoom out and broaden the scope of your vision. StrategicDon’t try to cram every detail of your vision into your vision statement—be strategic in selecting the ideas that feel the most relevant and compelling to your stakeholders. You might dream of someday having offices in every major city in the world, but your vision statement should focus on aspirations that speak to your company's mission and purpose. Vision statement writing tipsHere are a few best practices to keep in mind as you start writing your vision statement:
7 steps to write your company's vision statementThere's a lot more to crafting a great vision statement than just writing a few sentences. In order to create a statement that's truly aspirational and inspiring, you're going to need to do a little bit of work. Here's our seven-step process to write a great vision statement: 1. Identify important stakeholdersYour vision statement speaks on behalf of your entire company, so make a list of co-founders, fellow executives, and high-level employees who can help you craft and refine your statement so that it represents your organization as a whole. Getting buy-in from company leaders is also a smart strategic move—the more they believe in the vision statement, the better they'll model it in their daily work and communicate it to their own departments and teams. Make a second list of stakeholders that represent your vision statement's audience. This list may consist of personas rather than actual people, and should include:
Depending on your industry, this list may be longer or shorter; the main point is to write down a basic overview of the group of people you're writing for. If you're only thinking about your customers, your vision statement may not feel as relatable to employees or might not inspire potential funders to invest. Check your drafts against this list to make sure it feels applicable to all of your key stakeholders. 2. Start with a list of keywordsUltimately, you're aiming to craft a few concise sentences—and the process of crafting those sentences will be a lot easier if you have a "word bank" of sorts to draw from as you write. Hold an open brainstorming session with your internal stakeholders to come up with a keyword list. Make sure your keyword list is comprehensive by subdividing it into smaller categories and making sure you have a good list of keywords for each. At a minimum, you should collect keywords related to:
Just like your list of stakeholders, the number and type of keyword lists you should generate will vary depending on your industry and company. The important thing is to create a document filled with keywords that you can draw from as your writing, if you get stuck trying to communicate an idea, or if you need to replace some jargon-y text. 3. Answer foundational company questionsIn addition to your keywords document, take time during your brainstorm to answer the following questions:
4. Sort your answers by importanceBy the time you're finished brainstorming, you should have a lot of stuff written down.Put all of this content aside for a few days, so that your mind is clear when you return for the next step: deciding what goes in your vision statement and what gets left on the cutting room floor. Sit down with your vision statement tiger team and a highlighter and review everything you have written down. Highlight ideas and phrases that your group feels are the most important to your company, and cross out items that you're ready to eliminate from consideration (however, don't throw this content out entirely—everything you brainstormed can be helpful in creating other important documents, like your core values, roadmap, or business plan). 5. Write your company's vision out longformAt the end of step four, you'll have a smaller "word bank" of your most important phrases, ideas, keywords, and answers to foundational company questions. Your next step will be to organize these ideas into sentences that flow logically and are ordered according to your company's priorities. Right now, don't worry about length—focus instead on communicating your vision in a way that makes sense, touches all of the key points you want to include, and feels relatable to your stakeholders and your audience. It's much easier to edit a long but comprehensive statement than it is to bulk up a statement that's missing pieces. 6. Step back and evaluateBefore you go through the work of editing your vision down to size, take a step back and look at your vision paragraph from afar. This is another point where you may benefit from setting it aside for a few days and returning with fresh eyes. As you review your vision paragraph, check for the following things:
7. Write your final vision statementOnce you've adjusted your vision paragraph and made the changes you wanted to make, it's time to edit your vision paragraph down to a vision statement. In many cases, your paragraph may naturally shrink as you solicit and implement feedback from others, and you may even want to specifically ask for opinions on how your paragraph could be more concise. Here are a few ways to shorten your vision paragraph:
When your vision statement is finished, bring it back around to your stakeholders to get final feedback and make any finishing tweaks. Vision statement examplesThere's no way around it—writing a vision statement is hard, especially if it's your first time doing so. Before you get started, or if you get stuck and need to spark some new ideas, take a look at some of these example vision statements for inspiration. Note that not all companies have both a mission and a vision statement. Some companies combine the two into a single small paragraph that touches on tangible objectives (mission) as well as more long-reaching aspirations (vision). In some cases, companies won't label either statement, encasing them in a broader page dedicated to "purpose," "who we are," or another similar title. Here, we've gathered mission and vision statements for a few companies that have publicly set both. BBCMission: To act in the public interest, BBC serves all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. Vision: To be the most creative company in the world. IKEAMission: IKEA offers a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at low and accessible prices. Vision: To create a better everyday life for the many people. Southwest AirlinesMission:Southwest connects people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. Vision: To become the world’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline. HasbroMission:Hasbro creates the world's best play and entertainment experiences. Vision: To make the world a better place for all children, fans and families. Mission: To make things universally accessible and useful, Google organizes the world's information. Vision: To significantly improve the lives of as many people as possible. VMwareMission: To harness the next wave of innovation and solve customers’ toughest challenges, VMware uses disruptive technologies like edge computing, AI, blockchain, machine learning, Kubernetes, and more. Vision: To build a sustainable, equitable and more secure future for all. Use your vision statement to help you growA company's vision statement is a living document—it should adapt and change as your company achieves its business goals and sets new ones, grows in size, expands its offerings, and updates its mission. Revisit your vision statement once every year or so to make sure it still accurately reflects your company's ideal future; if not, adjust it! But for now, enjoy the fact that your vision statement is written. Share it with your team, announce it to your customers, and use it to proudly guide your company forward. Free business strategy template What are included in the mission and vision statements?A mission statement defines the organization's business, its objectives, and how it will reach these objectives. A vision statement details where the organization aspires to go. Why does your company exist? What do you hope to accomplish in the next several years?
What are the 3 parts of the mission statement?What are the Three Parts of a Mission Statement?. The Key Market – Who is your target audience? ... . Your Contribution – The next component to a successful mission statement is outlining your contribution. ... . Distinction – The next component to a highly effective mission statement is distinction.. What are the 5 parts of a mission statement?Here are 5 essential elements of a good mission statement:. Element #1 Simplicity. Keep it simple. ... . Element #2 Captivating. Don't be boring. ... . Element #3 Measurable. You'll know if you're succeeding in your mission if you craft it in a way that allows you to measure the results. ... . Element #4 Relevancy. ... . Element #5 Longevity.. What are the 3 key things a mission statement should have?Typically, a mission statement includes a basic description of the company, its purpose, and its goals.
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