If someone asks, “Why do people start businesses?”, the first answer that comes to mind might be, “To make money”.
On the surface, that’s true. But making money isn’t all there is to a successful business.
In business, there’s no guarantee you’ll make money just because you have a product or service to sell. Instead, you make money when people actually buy your product(s) or hire you to perform a service for them. However, no one will buy a product or service unless they stand to gain something valuable from it — be it a smoother workflow, lighter workload, or a better way of living.
And that right there is the bedrock of a successful business — value. Without offering value to your customers and employees, you can’t have a successful business. But then, how can you show people the value that your brand offers?
Short answer: Vision and mission statements.
Organizations use vision and mission statements to communicate their goals and aspirations to internal and external stakeholders. Well-crafted mission and vision statements provide internal teams with clarity, direction, and focus on their goals. On the other hand, external stakeholders, use these statements to gauge if a brand aligns with their personal values and is worth supporting.
In this article, we’ll explore what vision and mission statements are, the differences between them, the key components of both statements, and great statement examples that can inspire your own.
Skip ahead:
- Understanding Vision and Mission Statements
- Key Components of Vision Statements
- Examples of Inspiring Vision Statements
- Key Components of Mission Statements
- Examples of Impactful Mission Statements
- Crafting Your Vision and Mission Statements
- Inspire your stakeholders with impactful vision and mission statements
- FAQ
Understanding Vision and Mission Statements
Vision statement
A vision statement is one that expresses your brand’s meaning and plans for the future to stakeholders, especially employees and customers. It serves as a reminder — and a roadmap of sorts — of how you want your business to impact the world, which prevents you from losing sight of the big picture even as you’re inundated with your day-to-day activities. A great example is Microsoft’s early vision of putting “a computer on every desk and in every home.”
A good vision statement gives customers and employees a glimpse into the direction your business is taking, and shows them why your end goal is worth their time and investment. This is especially important as 82% of consumers now prefer to buy from brands that align with their values.
A vision statement is important because it outlines the shared goal of everyone in the company — from the C-suite to the receptionists. This plays a huge role in figuring out which new hires are a culture fit because anyone who applies to work at your company will know exactly what goal their efforts will be contributing to. And when employees know what their collective efforts are leading up to, they’re more inclined to stay and see it through.
The same goes for people who share similar values as your company — they’ll be more interested in buying from you and helping you achieve your goals.
Mission statement
A mission statement is a concise declaration of the present goals and core values of an organization. It helps your employees and customers immediately understand what your company is about, your top priorities, and how you differ from your competitors.
The best mission statements are a combination of physical, logical, and emotional elements that not only explains their companies’ purpose, but also fosters a connection with customers and employees. This connection helps build customer loyalty, which will eventually increase your overall profitability.
Since a mission statement is primarily about a company’s present goals, it should be revised as the company’s goals change. This way, the mission statement will always reflect the business’ current culture as it achieves its objectives and sets bigger goals.
Differences between vision and mission statements
Sometimes, the terms “vision statement” and “mission statement” are used interchangeably, but they’re actually different. The difference between them lies in the purpose they serve.
Simply put, a vision statement describes how a company plans to improve its immediate community, or the world at large, while a mission statement clarifies what your company wants to achieve, the product (or service) it offers, the audience it caters to, and why it’s doing it. Thus, a mission statement is a roadmap for a company’s vision.
It’s a case of “where you are right now” versus “where you’re going.”
For example, if someone asks you, “What do you do?”, you might answer, “I’m a content writer at a new software startup” or “I’m a barista at a nearby Starbucks shop.”
But if they ask you, “Where do you see yourself five years from now?”, you won’t give the same answer, will you? You’d probably say, “My goal in five years is to occupy a management position where create the company’s marketing strategy and oversee its execution” or “I want to own my own coffee company, selling locally-sourced coffee beans.”
The first scenario symbolizes a mission statement — the current purpose a company serves. And the latter scenario represents a vision statement — a glimpse into a company’s future.
Key Components of Vision Statements
To craft a great vision statement, here are some key components you should keep in mind:
- Ambitious: The purpose of a vision statement is to inspire stakeholders — customers, employees, and investors — to believe in your company. Having a lofty vision statement showcases how much impact you want your business to have in the world as it grows. It also conveys to people your passion for making a positive difference in others, far and wide.
- Practical: While your company’s vision should be aspirational, it shouldn’t feel impossible. You want to craft something that your company can work towards, so be careful not to make it so far out of reach that it feels unattainable. It’s a vision, after all — not a fantasy.
- Broad: A vision statement shows the correlation between your mission and your goals — but it isn’t a goal itself, so it shouldn’t feel too finite. Instead, it should be broad enough to cover all your brand’s overall goals and objectives.
Examples of Inspiring Vision Statements
Here are some examples of vision statements to inspire yours:
Vision statement: “Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce”
LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional network with over 900 million members across 200 countries worldwide. With LinkedIn, these individuals and businesses are connected with one another, which enables them to find jobs, hire qualified candidates, find investors, expand their investment portfolio, get speaking gigs, increase the creator economy, and more.
LinkedIn’s vision statement clearly shows why the company is doing what it’s doing: to create economic opportunity for every working person, regardless of their background or level. And one look at the community on LinkedIn and you’ll see that the company takes its vision statement seriously.
The statement itself is concise. It’s one sentence that encompasses what LinkedIn is doing (creating opportunities), why it’s doing it, and who it’s catering to (members of the global workforce).
Vision statement: “To make our oceans as rich, healthy, and abundant as they once were”
Right off the bat, Oceana’s vision statement makes anyone who reads it envision bodies of water filled with plastic, which makes up 80% of all marine debris found in oceans. This appeals to their emotions — sadness and shame for all the ways they might have contributed to polluting the world’s oceans and encouraging environmental crises.
However, Oceana’s vision also gives people hope that there’s an organization that’s working hard to fix the situation and renew the health of these oceans.
Vision statement: “To be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices”
Customers are at the center of what Amazon does — and their customers know it. There’s nary a thing you can’t find on Amazon — from books to kitchen appliances to clothing to skincare. And these items are affordable, too.
Amazon’s vision statement encapsulates everything it wants to offer: a huge selection of everything, low prices, and convenience. All of that merges into one ultimate goal: to become Earth’s most customer-centric company.
This vision statement is succinct and memorable, and clearly shows the values that Amazon upholds.
Key Components of Mission Statements
When formulating your mission statement, here are some important things to remember:
- Purpose: Ask yourself: “Why does this business exist?” What does your product or service do, how does it do it, and who is it created to help? A mission that summarizes your purpose gives everyone who reads it a high-level overview of the essence of your brand.
- Values: A mission statement is a way to communicate your values and core beliefs to stakeholders. What does your company stand for? What do you believe in that sets you apart from competitors? Perhaps your products are environment-friendly or you donate part of your annual revenue to a charity your customers choose. Whatever your values are, include them in your mission statement.
- Clarity: Always write your mission statement in simple language that people can easily understand, interpret, and remember. You also need to keep the statement to a sensible length — not too short that it excludes important information, and not too long that it becomes forgettable and unwieldy.
- Emotional appeal: A mission statement isn’t just a quick rundown of what your company does; it’s a reflection of who you are. So as you write it, focus on appealing to people’s emotions and inspiring them to think (and act) differently. Doing this will increase the chances of your mission resonating with people and building customer loyalty.
Examples of Impactful Mission Statements
Below are some real-life examples of mission statements that positively impact the stakeholders of the companies:
Mission statement: “To offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them”
IKEA is known as a company where people can get very cheap, but functional, furniture. So IKEA’s mission statement clearly states what it already does. But you may notice that the statement isn’t about offering beautiful furniture; instead, it’s about making life better for their customers.
Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, states, “IKEA is not the work of one person alone, it is the result of many minds and many souls working together through many years of joy and hard work.” The phrase “many minds and many souls” conveys a sense of teamwork, togetherness, and inclusion that helps IKEA meet the needs of its customers.
Mission statement: “To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling”
With classics like The Lion King, The Adventures of Aladdin, and Frozen, Disney’s storytelling is immaculate. Thankfully, Disney’s mission statement accurately portrays how central storytelling is to the work Disney does.
Disney’s mission goes beyond simply entertaining kids and tweens; it intends to put out high-qualities stories that inspire other people’s creativity, increase personal growth, and enact positive change in the world. This mission statement is impeccable because it portrays Disney’s desire to inspire others to channel their own creativity to make their communities better.
Mission statement: “To provide 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”
Cradles to Crayons is a non-profit organization that is trying to eradicate a popular economic issue in the United States (and the world): child poverty. This organization’s mission statement appeals to the humanity in people by showing how dedicated it is to give young children who live in poverty the basic things they need to survive and thrive.
This inspires people to donate items and money to support Cradles to Crayons’ mission to equal the playing field for children all over the country, regardless of background. The more people who donate, the more children the non-profit will be able to help.
Crafting Your Vision and Mission Statements
Here are some tips for creating compelling vision and mission statements:
Think about your “why”
Your “why” is the heartbeat of your mission and vision statements. Why are you here? What problems do you solve? What ultimate impact do you want your business to have in your industry, your community, and the world at large?
For Thinkific, it’s to “revolutionize the way people learn and earn online by giving them the tools they need to turn their expertise into a sustainable business that impacts both them and their audience.”
Before writing your mission and vision statements, think about what drove you to start your business. It doesn’t have to be some lofty goal to save the world from imminent destruction, but there has to be a reason for every action you take and product (or service) you offer that goes beyond simply making money.
Involve your stakeholders
Great mission statements are almost always a result of the collaboration of a company’s stakeholders. So, work with your stakeholders — including leadership, employees, customers, and investors — to bounce off ideas and get their perspectives on your company’s purpose.
Speaking to customers is especially important because, without them, you have no business. Your mission statement should encompass the views of your internal team, as well as external stakeholders to explain what you have to offer, the problems you’re solving, and why your business is the right consumer choice.
Pro tip: If you don’t have a team just yet, you can get your friends and family to help you out.
Don’t fixate on what you do
Your mission and vision statements are quite different from your unique selling proposition (USP). So, with your mission and vision statements, don’t fixate on the products (or services) you offer and why they’re so awesome. Instead, look at your offers from your customers’ point of view and communicate how your offers will improve their way of life.
For example, you mightn’t be excited about shoes in general, but if a shoe company says that they’ll donate a pair of shoes per purchase to people who have no shoes in certain parts of the world, that’ll pique your interest, right?
Connect your statements with your brand goals and objectives
Your mission and vision statements should be more than a catchy tagline. Instead, they should be reflective of the goals, objectives, and values your brand is working toward. These three elements play a significant role in building brand loyalty, because they show that you’re not just running a brand to get rich. You actually want to make a positive difference in the world, and seeing this can appeal to people on an emotional level and influence their decision to support you, be it through their hard work or their money.
Use plain language
If your mission and vision statements were only used for internal purposes, then there’d be nothing wrong with using buzzwords and complicated industry terms to describe your company.
However, individuals who probably have no idea what “agile manifesto” and “decentralized blockchain applications” mean still need those statements to gauge whether your company aligns with their personal values or not. So your best bet to converting these people is to use plain, simple language for your mission and vision statements.
Get rid of any corporate speak or industry jargon, replace complex words with plain language, and be specific. Not only does this help people interpret your words correctly and easily, but it also makes your statements feel authentic and genuine.
Keep them at optimal lengths
While most agree that mission and vision statements should be concise and succinct, things aren’t that cut and dry. You want your statements to be short enough that people can remember them and repeat them quickly, but long enough to contain the main thing(s) you want people to know about your brand.
So, the lengths of your statements are completely up to you. If it’s too long, only the writers may use it. But if it’s short enough to be recited, employees can use it as a decision-making and culture-shaping guide. And if it’s memorable, customers will connect with your brand and purchase your products (or services).
Pro tip: As a rule of thumb, they should be between 1-2 sentences long. Anything longer is probably too long and hard to recall.
Inspire your stakeholders with impactful vision and mission statements
When written well, vision and mission statements can be powerful at attracting customers and driving business growth. They can be a beacon of light that keeps the team focused on the things that actually matter.
The key to creating the best vision and statement statements is clarity. For your mission statement, clearly define what you do and how you hope to help others with your brand. And for your vision statement, define why your brand exists and the kind of difference you want your business to make in the world.
When you stay true to your values and show people what matters most to your business, the right audience will resonate with your statements and support you in achieving your goals.
If you’re currently in the process of crafting a vision and mission statement, the examples outlined above can inspire the direction you take. Try, however, to be as honest and original as possible.
FAQ
What is the difference between a vision and a mission statement?
Simply put, a mission statement is a concise phrase that outlines what your business is doing right now, while a vision statement is an aspirational sentence that describes what your business hopes to achieve in the future.
How do I create a compelling vision statement for my organization?
To create a compelling vision statement for your business, work closely with your internal team and customers to define your organization’s purpose, values, and long-term aspirations. Then write a short, aspirational paragraph of no more than two sentences that encapsulates all of these elements in a way that’s memorable and appeals to the emotions of all who read it.
What are some examples of personal mission statements?
A personal mission statement is a statement that describes a person’s values, their goals, and how they define success. Here are some examples of personal mission statements from famous people:
- Amanda Steinberg: “To use my gifts of intelligence, charisma, and serial optimism to cultivate the self-worth and net worth of women around the world.”
- Oprah Winfrey: “To be a teacher and to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”
- Richard Branson: “To have fun in my journey through life and learn from my mistakes.”
- Maya Angelou: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”
Can I use a vision and mission statement interchangeably?
While some people use the terms “vision statement” and “mission statement” interchangeably, they serve slightly different purposes. Mission statements focus on the “how” and “what” of a company — letting people know everything there is to know about your brand at present. Vision statements, on the other hand, focus on the “why” of a company — letting people know what your brand hopes to achieve in the far future.
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