Mission, Vision, and Values: 

The Rock Every Business Should Be Built On for Success Today and Into the Future

Laying out the foundation for your business’s goals, as well as the principles that guide those goals, is an essential part of business planning. Making clear statements helps provide clarity to your customers and employees and provides a map for guiding your business toward success. Developing thoughtful mission, vision, and value (MV&V) statements are a key part of your strategic plan for your business to reach its full potential.

Let’s break down each statement and how it helps you manage your business.

Vision Statement

A Vision Statement lays the foundation for your future goals. It should reflect your dream of what your business will become 5 to 10 years down the road. It should be as specific as possible while giving you some wiggle room for the unknown. Your vision statement should also capture the “why” behind your actions. It should reflect the heart of your business and the greater purpose you are trying to achieve. The more detail your vision statement includes, the clearer it will be for you, your investors and stakeholders, and your employees to help you achieve that vision.

Mission Statement

If you’re a business owner or have ever taken any business course, you know what a Mission Statement is. It’s one of the first things discussed in introductory business classes because it is one of the first things you should do when developing a business plan. A Mission Statement establishes the “how” of your business. It answers the simple but essential question, “How are we going to conduct ourselves in order to achieve the vision I have for my business?”. If you’re a restaurant owner, your mission might simply be to provide high-quality food and service to your customers. If you’re a retail business, your mission statement might be to provide your customers with a niche product that other retailers in your area don’t offer. A life coaching consultancy’s mission may be to help people realize their full potential.

Value Statement

Creating a Value Statement is what personifies your business. The core beliefs, values, and principles guide your business toward fulfilling its vision and mission. It is the foundation for establishing your company culture. Vision Statements impact the employee experience you deliver and the relationship you develop with your customers, partners, and shareholders.

4 Reasons You Should Develop Mission, Vision &Values Statements For Your Business

1. Defining your organization’s purpose can instill a sense of belonging and identity in your employees. This gives your team the mindset to grow your business and motivates them to work harder to succeed. People want to be a part of something bigger. When you can share your vision of the future with them, it draws the right people to your business.
2. Comprehensive MV&V statements provide direction for your company and the goal or destination you aim to reach by following that direction.
3. A clear mission gives company executives guidance for making decisions and how to operate. The vision statement ensures all decisions align with your organization’s long-term goals.
4. A detailed MV&V provides a focal point that helps to align everyone with the organization and ensure they are all working towards a single purpose. This increases efficiency and productivity in the workplace.

To a large extent, a company’s success depends on having robust MV&V statements in place and that those statements align with each other. Having a mission, vision, and values is one thing, but true power comes when everyone in the organization believes in them, abides by them, and is working collectively to achieve the same end goals. Confusion with the business plan leads to poor decision-making, frustration, and a disconnected workforce.

For example, in the restaurant instance, if your mission is to provide high-quality food to your customers, but your vision statement includes unrealistic expense objectives for sourcing products, you will have difficulty reconciling the two. Your purchasing managers will have a hard time knowing which objective takes precedence and may be purchasing lower-quality products that hinder you from producing high-quality food for your customers. 

Empowered Leadership helps businesses find freedom through business coaching, executive coaching, assessments, and training. If you need help or direction with composing your business statements, I’d love to chat and help guide you. Click on the button to contact me.