The mission, vision and values are the strategic guidelines that guide the way in which a company manages its teams and how it will position itself in the market.
These three concepts are usually defined before starting a business, since they are what determine the purpose of the organization.
In this sense, if you are in the initial stage of your venture or would like to document the strategic identity of your company, take advantage of the advice in this guide!
We’re going to delve into mission, vision and values, through examples of each, and show you how to define them.
What are the mission, vision and values of a company
Mission, vision and values are the strategic guidelines that guide the way in which a company manages its teams and how it is going to position itself in the market to achieve its objectives.
In this sense, the mission tells the world what the company wants to achieve, what means it is going to use to achieve it, and to whom this effort is directed.
The vision tells how the world will be in the future and the positive changes that will occur if the company fulfills its mission.
And the values are the principles of an organization and give an account of how the ideal conduct should be that the company should follow in order to fulfill its objectives.
These three concepts constitute the foundations of a company’s philosophy, which is the thought that explains the company’s reason for being and acting.
Now that you know the generalities of each term, let’s see how to define each one in your business.
What is the mission?
The mission defines the purpose of the company’s existence and what differentiates it from others. In other words, it has to do with that of a business.
The main role of the mission is to inspire and engage the team, connecting all stakeholders (or interested parties in a company) to guide them towards business success.
The mission of a company serves to give focus to the efforts and initiatives that it seeks to achieve and its importance can be divided into three groups of interest:
- Importance for the organization. If your collaborators know the company’s mission in detail, each individual effort will be aligned with what you want to achieve collectively.
- importance to the customer. Your current and potential customers are going to experience most of the results of the efforts that your company is going to make. In this case, the mission is key, since it will be evident in actions rather than words.
- Importance for the market. The mission communicates to the industry, investors and possible allies the way and the means that you are going to use to achieve your objectives. Through this information, you will be able to raise funds to develop your company, as well as attract people aligned to your project.
How to define the mission?
To define the mission of a company, it is important to have detailed knowledge of your objectives, the means you use to achieve them, and of course, a precise understanding of the importance of the message you want to convey.
The mission is closely related to the identity of your company and this implies that it varies substantially from one organization to another. For that reason, there are multiple methods to get to that powerful phrase you are looking for.
In this opportunity, we recommend the following method to elaborate the mission of your company:
1. Answer these key questions about your company
- What do we do? What do we do?
- How do we do it? What do we do differently to achieve it?
- Why do we do what we do? What is our purpose?
- Who do we do it for? What do they mean to us?
- What does your company do for your collaborators? How do you involve them in what you do?
- What does your company do for your customers? What is the effect on their lives when they come into contact with your brand?
- What does your company do for the market segment to which it belongs? How can allies in your segment grow thanks to what you do?
2. Write a powerful phrase
The mission must be a short, precise and very strong phrase, capable of concretely describing what you want to achieve.
Here are some tips to help you write it successfully:
- Betting on honesty is always the best way.
- Your mission determines from daily actions to medium-term goals. Therefore, you must be realistic about your scope.
- Try to be brief and direct.
- Stay away from technicalities or complex language.
- Your mission should be a reflection of your company. If you use another company’s mission as a basis, your audience will notice.
- Avoid making a simple list of the services or products you offer.
- When you finish writing the sentence, ask for feedback in your environment and make the necessary adjustments. It is normal that it does not come out on the first attempts (or the second and third). Don’t lose patience.
3. Focus on the “why”
Simon Sinek —consultant, lecturer and scholar of anthropological marketing— developed a model called The Golden Circle, which starts from a simple, but extremely profound premise:
People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
simon sinek
This model explains how the “why” is decisive to optimally convey the purpose of your company and how it is essential for companies that achieve great things.
Based on the ‘why’ it is possible to establish a much more powerful bond of empathy with your audience, and therefore, the relationship with your brand becomes stronger.
Watch this video that will help you better understand The Golden Circle and its relationship to finding the purpose of your company.
What is vision?
The vision is the destination to which a company wants to reach. In this sense, it establishes the parameters for a company’s decision-making, the necessary investments and the way to define strategies.
Like the mission, the vision is essential to achieve the objectives of an organization, since it determines the best path in the short, medium and long term to achieve the goals.
How to define the vision?
To establish the vision of a company, it is essential to take into account the following points:
- The projected reach of the brand in the next five years: do you want it to be recognized locally, nationally, regionally and internationally?
- The essence of the business: do you want to be a leader through which differential? Design? Prices? The innovation?
- The reason why they choose your brand and not another.
Finally, keep in mind that the definition of the vision must be done according to the budget that you established for your business.
What are values?
The are the principles of a company, which establish what are the ideal attitudes and behaviors that are expected of the employees, managers, investors, suppliers and partners of an organization.
In other words, it refers to the behavior that the company must follow in order to fulfill an objective.
How to define the values?
The first thing to consider is that the values must be closely linked to the goals of the company. They also have to be relevant to the target audience.
In this sense, the values need to meet these two characteristics:
- Be brief and direct, from five to eight words to facilitate the comprehension process.
- Differentiate your company from the competition.
Once you have the principles defined, use them in all the processes of your company: from the hiring of collaborators to the definition of strategies, passing through the creation of the code of ethics of your business.
Examples of a company’s mission, vision and values
To better understand how companies communicate these pillars of their organizational culture, we share some examples that will serve to clarify doubts and inspire you to write those of your new venture or rework those of your company.
🎯 Mission: “Empower people to follow their dreams and live an entrepreneurial life by helping them to be able to sell online and boost their businesses”.
🌎 Vision: “Help people through e-commerce to have successful businesses and boost the economy of the region”.
📝 Values: “We put the customer at the center of our decisions; we fully commit ourselves; we say what we think; we execute with excellence; we think big; we learn and build trust; We work as a team”.
Cheer up to create your business today!
Tesla
🎯 Mission: “Accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy”.
🌎 Vision: “Tesla believes that the faster the world weans off fossil fuel dependence and moves toward a zero-emissions future, the better. Electric cars, batteries, and renewable energy generation and storage already exist independently, but when you combine them, they become more powerful. That is the future we want.”
📝 Values: “Innovation, integrity, teamwork, respect for the person, concern for the environment”.
🎯 Mission: “Connect professionals from all over the world to help them be more productive and achieve all their work goals.”
🌎 Vision: “Create economic opportunities for every professional in the international labor market”.
📝 Values: “We put LinkedIn members first; we act as one team; we trust the other and care about him; we take responsibility for representing diversity, inclusion and a sense of belonging; we are open, honest and constructive; we dream big, we do things and we know how to have fun”.
🎯 Mission: “Our mission is to organize the world’s information so that everyone can access and use it.”
🌎 Vision: “Make information globally accessible and useful”.
📝 Values: “Think about the user and the rest will come by itself; it is better to do only one thing very, very well; fast is better than slow; democracy is a good form of governance for the web; money can be made by being honest; being good is not enough.”
Nestle
🎯 Mission: “We develop all the power of food to improve the quality of life, today and for future generations. That is our purpose.”
🌎 Vision: “To be the partner that helps you grow through creative solutions in food and beverages, backed by recognized brands, that allow you to innovate and satisfy your customers”.
📝 Values: “Our people are what make us grow; we exist to serve our customers; we seek business excellence; boldness and innovation are our trademark; global action is our frontier; we build a sustainable future”.
The relationship between values, mission and decision making in a company
Now that you know the role of a company’s mission and its…
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