How to create vision, mission and values statements that galvanise your team
Tools & Resources
Key learnings
- A company vision statement is what the company wants to become in the future.
- The mission statement sets out how you will achieve the vision – who you will work with and how you will serve them.
- Values are the principles that guide your behaviour and decision-making – what do you stand for?
- Involving key stakeholders in the creation helps to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction and is motivated to do so.
- Keep your vision, mission and values under review and refine them as your business and markets change.
Creating a vision, mission, and set of values is a fundamental step in laying the groundwork for any business. These elements define what the business stands for, its purpose, and how it wants to impact the world. In this article, Kirsty Waite, CEO and Founder of The Ethical Coaching Company shares a breakdown of what each term means and how to go about crafting them.
Definitions
Vision Statement: This describes what the organisation aspires to become in the future. It’s a long-term, idealistic representation of what the company hopes to achieve. It should be inspiring and reflect the company's goal. This outlines concisely what we believe in. Our ‘why we do what we do’.
Mission Statement: This explains the purpose of the organisation. It focuses on what the company does, whom it serves, and how it serves them.
A mission statement should be more concrete than the vision, providing a sense of direction and the means to achieve the vision. It answers the questions, what underpins our belief, and how do we achieve what we believe in?
Values: These are the core principles that guide an organisation's behaviour and decision-making processes. Values uphold the company's identity and culture, influencing how the mission is executed and how the vision is achieved.
Practical activities to help you craft your vision, mission and values statements:
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Step 1: Gathering Input
Activity: Organise ideas exchanging sessions with key stakeholders, including founders, potential customers, and early employees.
Purpose: To gather diverse perspectives and insights that will inform the core elements of the business.
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Step 2: Drafting the Vision
Activity: Encourage team members to envision the future impact of the business. Ask questions like, "What do we want to become in 10 years?" and "How do we want to be remembered?"
Then the challenge is to attempt to describe this belief in 8-12 words with verbs and adjectives.
Purpose: To create a broad, aspirational picture of the future that motivates and inspires colleagues, customers and stakeholders.
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Step 3: Crafting the Mission
Activity: Refine the business's purpose by discussing the daily operations, target audience, and key services or products. Use template starter statements such as, "Our mission is to [action/how] for [audience/colleagues/customer] by [consistent method]."
“We want to achieve x by doing y that instils z”.
“We believe in X that by doing Y will achieve Z”
Purpose: To clarify the immediate actions and objectives that will lead to the realisation of and continued belief in the vision.
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Step 4: Defining the Values
Activity: Identify the key principles that reflect the ethos of the organisation. Consider what behaviours and attitudes are non-negotiable within the business context.
Purpose: To establish a set of guiding principles that ensure consistency and integrity in all business practices.
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Step 5: Integration and Communication
Activity: Embed the vision, mission, and values into all aspects of the business, from the onboarding process to daily operations and strategic planning.
Purpose: To align all organisational activities and decisions with the established identity and goals.
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Step 6: Review and Adapt
Activity: Regularly review and possibly revise the vision, mission, and values to keep them relevant as the business grows and market conditions evolve. These activities require you to include colleagues in this discussion.
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Going back to Step 1: Gathering input
Purpose: To ensure the business remains aligned with its core principles while staying adaptive and responsive to change.
Initial Considerations
Relevance: Ensure your vision, mission, and values are relevant to the business's industry, culture, and goals.
Clarity and Conciseness: These statements should be clear, understandable, and concise, avoiding jargon or overly complex language.
Alignment: All three should align with each other, with the values supporting the mission, and the mission working towards the vision.
Inspiration and Aspiration: Particularly with the vision and values, there should be an element that inspires employees and other stakeholders to strive for excellence and improvement.
Crafting your business's vision, mission, and values is not just a foundational strategy task but also an ongoing process that can define its trajectory and culture. Keep these components alive by continually referring to them in company communications and decision-making.
If you want to take your learning further, you can check out the book Kirsty has co-authored – Small But Mighty: The Business Leader's Guide to Growth, People and Performance – or get even more support from Kirsty and a group of likeminded business owners with the Go Further Group Programme.
Next steps…
- Get inspired by other organisations to fuel your thinking – Hubspot has curated 100 mission statement examples you can download for free, or a simple search will find plenty too.
- Set up a few brief sessions with a working group – keep them fun and encourage people to share even off-the-wall ideas because they can spark just the right word or phrase.
- Let your ideas percolate and don’t force it; the best ideas often come when you’re doing other things, then you can get feedback.
- Expect to refine your vision, mission and values periodically – consider checking how they feel each time before you do an annual plan, for example. Do they still fit?
- Check out the book Small But Mighty: The Business Leader's Guide to Growth, People and Performance, or the Go Further Group Programme – learn at your own pace and get dedicated support from Kirsty and a group of likeminded business owners.