What are Vision, Mission and Values?

 Vision Statement. A vision statement describes the organization as it would appear in a future successful state.
When developing a vision statement, try to answer this question: If the organization were to achieve all of its
strategic goals, what would it look like 10 years from now? An effective vision statement is inspirational and
aspirational. It creates a mental image of the future state that the organization wishes to achieve. A vision
statement should challenge and inspire employees.

 Mission Statement. A mission statement explains the company’s reason for existence. It describes the company
what it does and its overall intention. The mission statement supports the vision and serves to communicate
purpose and direction to employees, customers, vendors and other stakeholders.

 Values. A values statement describes what the organization believes in and how it will behave. Values create a
compass for the company and its employees. This compass guides decision-making and establishes a standard
that actions can be assessed against. A values statement defines the deeply held beliefs and principles of the
organizational culture.

Establishing a company's mission, vision and values are critical to setting the direction of a company.

How to Create a Vision Statement

A vision statement describes what you want your company to become in the future. Keep the following in mind as you
create your vision statement:

 Inspire. It should be aspirational and inspirational.

 Not a How To. Ideally, the statement should be one sentence in length and should not explain how the vision
will be met.

 Ask Yourself. When developing your vision, keep these questions in mind:

o What is unique about doing business with your brand?

o How would your customers describe your brand

o Where do you want your company to be in five years?

 Take Into Account Differences in People. Some people arrive at vision through analysis and others arrive by
dreaming about the future. All of these perspectives can drive a great vision - embrace them all.

 Make the Process Focused. Vision can be the most enjoyable part of planning, but the part where time easily
gets away from you.
How to Create a Mission Statement

A mission statement defines the purpose of the company. Keep the following in mind as you create your vision
statement:

 Simple. It should be simple, straightforward, articulate, and consist of jargon-free language that's easy to grasp.

 It Should Motivate. It should be motivational to both employees and customers.

 Ask Yourself. When crafting your mission statement, keep these tips in mind:

o What are the specific market needs the company exists to address?

o What does the company do to address these needs?

o What are the guiding principles that define the company's approach?

o Why do customers buy from you and not your competition?

 Purpose. Basically, the mission statement describes the overall purpose of the organization.

 Ask How The Vision Comes to Life. If the organization elects to develop a vision statement before developing
the mission statement, ask “Why does the image, the vision exist -- what is its purpose?” This is often the same
as the mission.

 Wording. When wording the mission statement, consider the organization's products, services, markets, values,
and concern for public image, and maybe priorities of activities for survival.

 Sets the Tone for Priority. Ensure that wording of the mission is to the extent that management and employees
can infer some order of priorities in how products and services are delivered.

 Be Concise. When refining the mission, a useful exercise is to add or delete a word from the mission to realize
the change in scope of the mission statement and assess how concise is its wording.

 Does it Make You Unique. Does the mission statement include sufficient description that the statement clearly
separates the mission of the organization from other organizations?

Developing Values

Core values are what support the vision, shape the culture and reflect what the company values. They are the essence
of the company’s identity – the principles, beliefs or philosophy of values. Many companies focus mostly on the
technical competencies but often forget what are the underlying competencies that make their companies run smoothly
— core values. Establishing strong core values provides both internal and external advantages to the company:
  They Should Reflect Your Essence. Some say you don't create your values - you discover them. They should
reflect who you really are.

 They Help Decisions. Core values help companies in the decision-making processes. For example, if one of
your core values is to stand behind the quality of your products, any products not reaching the satisfactory
standard are automatically eliminated.

 They Set Your Identity in the Market. Core values educate clients and potential customers about what the
company is about and clarify the identity of the company. Especially in this competitive world, having a set of
specific core values that speak to the public is definitely a competitive advantage.

 They Set You Apart with Talent. Core values are becoming primary recruiting and retention tools. With the ease
of researching companies, job seekers are doing their homework on the identities of the companies they are
applying for and weighing whether or not these companies hold the values that the job seekers consider as
important.

 They are Timeless. Core values are timeless and do not change; they are sustainable in the longer term. They
don't change in an economic downturn or in a change of strategy or with a new set of products.

So how do you discover core values? Here are some questions that can help:

 Are the core values that you hold to be fundamental regardless of whether or not they are awarded?

 If you woke up tomorrow morning with enough money to retire for the rest of your life, would you continue to
hold on to these core values?

 Can you envision these values being as valid 100 years from now as they are today?

 Would you want the organization to continue to hold these values, even if at some point, they became a
competitive disadvantage?

 If you were to start a new organization tomorrow in a different line of work, would you build the core values into
the new organization regardless of its activities?

The last three questions are crucial because they help to make a crucial distinction between core values and strategies
– core values are fixed regardless of the time and factors, internal as well as external, affecting the organization, while
strategies and practices should be changing all the time. If the answers are yes for each of the core values chosen, then
you have yourself what constitute the identity of your organization.

We have discussed why core values are important and some strategies for setting core values. You may be wondering:
what do core values look like? Below is a list of 10 core values that are common across organizations in different
industries:
  Accountability. Acknowledging and assuming responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies. It can
be applied to both individual accountability on the part of employees and accountability of the company as a
whole.

 Balance. Taking a proactive stand to create and maintain a healthy work-life balance for workers.

 Commitment. Committing to great product, service, and other initiatives that impact lives within and outside the
organization.

 Community. Contributing to society and demonstrating corporate social responsibility.

 Diversity. respecting the diversity and giving the best of composition. Establishing an employee equity program.

 Empowerment. Encouraging employees to take initiative and give the best. Adopting an error-embracing
environment to empower employees to lead and make decisions.

 Innovation. Pursuing new creative ideas that have the potential to change the world.

 Integrity. Acting with honesty and honor without compromising the truth

 Ownership. Taking care of the company and customers as if they were one’s own.

 Safety. ensuring the health and safety of employees and going beyond the legal requirements to provide an
accident-free workplace.

Mission Statement Examples

1. Life is Good: To spread the power of optimism.

2. Sweetgreen: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.
3. Patagonia: We’re in business to save our home planet.
4. American Express: Become essential to our customers by providing differentiated products and services to help them
achieve their aspirations.
5. Warby Parker: To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price while leading the way for socially conscious
businesses.
6. InvisionApp: Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere.
Integrity.
7. Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.
8. IKEA: To create a better everyday life for the many people.
9. Nordstrom: To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.
10. Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations,
with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school, and at play.
11. Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to
family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES
are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.
 12. JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.
13. Workday: To put people at the center of enterprise software.
14. Prezi: To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.
15. Tesla: To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.
16. Invisible Children: To end violence and exploitation facing our world's most isolated and vulnerable
communities.
Vision Statement Examples
1. Alzheimer's Association: A world without Alzheimer's disease.
2. Teach for America: One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.
3. Creative Commons: Realizing the full potential of the internet — universal access to research and education, full
participation in culture — to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity.
4. Microsoft: We strive to create local opportunity, growth, and impact in every country around the world.
5. Australia Department of Health: Better health and wellbeing for all Australians, now and for future generations.
6. LinkedIn: Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.
7. Disney: To be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.
8. Meta: Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.
9. Southwest: To be the world's most loved, most efficient, and most profitable airline.
10. Dunkin Donuts: To be always the desired place for great coffee beverages and delicious complementary
doughnuts & bakery products to enjoy with family and friends.