Let’s Talk About Vision, Mission And Value Statement

By Faye Nicholson

Everybody at one point in their lives asks the question, why am I here? What is my purpose and what do I want to be known for? Organizations ask those same questions and answer them in the form of mission statements, vision statements and value statements. These statements help form the culture of the organization.
Your mission, vision and value statements are much more than a sign on your wall or a placeholder on your website. These statements communicate to your stakeholders your sincere beliefs that guide your organization. They share why you exist, where your organization is going and what your organization stands for. 
These statements also help your organization develop strategies and ideas that build your startup’s identity and foundation. Let’s talk briefly about each one:

​Vision Statement – Your vision statement communicates your future goal and describes what your organization wants to achieve or become. It is motivational and forward-looking. It should be a short memorable statement of 25 words or less, so your stakeholders can remember it. 
Benefits of a vision statement:

• It inspires people to imagine a better future
  
• It defines what success means to your company
  
• It keeps you true to your purpose and beliefs
  

When writing a vision statement think about what you included when you made your pitch to promote your product or service, your startup story, your marketing plan, your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis), and your business goals. Then answer the following questions that Frontier Marketing suggests:

• What is the purpose of your startup company?
  
• What problems do you want to solve?
  
• How does your company aim to make the world a better place?
  
• What are your company’s hopes and dreams?
  
• Who and what do you want to inspire to change?
  

Examples of vision statements:
Tesla: To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.
Google: To provide access to the world’s information in one click.
Apple: To make the best products on earth, and to leave the world better than we found it.
Southwest: To be the world’s most, loved, most efficient and most profitable airline.
Mission Statement – Your mission statement focuses on your company’s present circumstances. It is a brief strategic description of the purpose of your company. A mission statement describes how you are different from your competitors. It conveys goals, organizational structure and strategy, legitimacy, values, participation and ownership among employees, leadership. It conveys responsibility to the community, ethical priorities and commitment to your publics and stakeholders.
Benefits of a mission statement

• It gives your stakeholders a common goal to strive for 
  
• It places emphasis on what’s most important at your company and describes its daily operations
  

When writing a mission statement, keep it short and simple and stay focused on your stakeholders. If you are having trouble writing your mission statement refer to your business plan or marketing plan, review your target audience's needs and then answer the following questions:

• Who you are?
  
• What purpose do you serve?
  
• Why do you serve it?
  
• How do you achieve your vision statement?
  
• What are the benefits?
  

Examples of mission statements:
Tesla: Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
Google: Our mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.
Apple: To bring the best personal computing products and support to students, educators, designers, scientists, engineers, businesspersons, and consumers in over 140 countries around the world.
Southwest: Connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.
Value Statement – The last organizational statement to consider is a value statement. A value statement is a deeper dive into sharing and communicating your core and ethical beliefs. This could be included in either your vision or mission statement or as one that stands on its own. According to NH Center for Nonprofits value statement answers important questions like:

• What are the most important values that guide your startup?
  
• How will you define and implement these values for your organizations?
  
• Do they inspire pride and bring out the best in us?
  

Click on the link to view an example of Apple's Values and remember according to Frontier Marketing vision, mission and value statements help you motivate employees, plan strategically, set values, inspire customers, and understand why your business exists.