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Company Vision, Mission, and Values, What’s the Difference?
| Guest post by: Ben Nash |
Article Overview: I was asked recently by a friend to explain the difference between a vision statement, a mission statement, and a values statement. I must confess that I struggled to answer the question as many organizations seem to use these terms interchangeably. Then my parochial school education kicked in - I had heard a lot about people with a mission when at Catholic school - they called them “Missionaries”. So what was their mission? It could be described as to carry out the “Vision of Jesus of Nazareth” (he was certainly a visionary) and to do this in accordance with the values he espoused.
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Company Vision, Mission, and Values, What’s the Difference?
I was asked recently by a friend to explain the difference between a
vision statement, a mission statement, and a values statement. I must
confess that I struggled to answer the question as many organizations
seem to use these terms interchangeably. Then my parochial school
education kicked in - I had heard a lot about people with a mission when
at Catholic school - they called them “Missionaries”. So what was their
mission? It could be described as to carry out the “Vision of Jesus of
Nazareth” (he was certainly a visionary) and to do this in accordance
with the values he espoused.
So a visionary (like Jesus) describes a future state and provides us
with a picture of what needs to be created. In a similar way an
organization’s vision is all about what is possible - about potential
and what the future looks like.
The mission, on the other hand, describes what it takes to make the
vision come true (think the 12 Apostles and all those missionaries down
through the centuries). The Mission Statement turns the vision into
practice and describes the work that needs to be done to achieve the
vision. The Values Statement describes the guiding principles as to how
the mission and vision should be achieved.
Take for example Coca Cola’s Vision, Mission and Values Statements.
Coca Cola’s Vision can be summarized as:
“Be a great place to work, bring great beverage products to the
world, nurture customers and suppliers, be responsible citizens,
maximize shareholder return, and be lean and fast moving”
While their Mission is “To refresh the world, to inspire moments of
optimism and happiness, to create value and make a difference.”
So if Coca Cola carries out its mission effectively they will have a
great shot of achieving their vision.
Coke’s “Values Statement” describes how they will achieve all this
through: “Leadership, collaboration, integrity, accountability, passion,
diversity, and quality”.
Making a distinction between a “Visionary” and a “Missionary” and
spelling out the critical guiding values seemed to help my friend
clarify what he needed to do to write his own vision, mission, and
values statements for his organization. I am eager to see the results of
his labors.
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About the Author: Ben Nash RSS for Ben's articles - Visit Ben's website Ben Nash is the editor-in-chief of DailyHRTips.com. He is the founder and chief developer of the blog, providing tech/design support as well as tips and book reviews. Ben has held many interesting jobs in his professional career, including: barista, landscaper, public policy intern, barista (again), professional horse wrangler, ski lift attendant (aka "liftie"), political science teaching assistant, marketing and sales assistant, and an ecommerce/web developer. He also doubles as the Creative Director at Aspen Organization Development Consulting. Ben has interacted with many people, in many different organizations and offers some interesting insight on the human resources game. You can read his blog at http://www.DailyHRTips.com and visit his website at http://www.AspenOD.com. Click here to visit Ben's website   Learning at the Frank Sinatra School of Leadership Do Something An original Approach to Managing Change Successful Transitioning from an Individual Contributor to a Supervisor Role Change Employee Communication and Avoid the Golden Bull 3 Tips for Being The Best Boss You Can Be |
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