When leaders identify their organization’s mission and vision, they take important steps toward establishing a strategic framework for achieving significant successes.
All organizations, regardless of industry or type of business, should laser in on developing their mission and vision. As a way to begin this process, organizational leaders can take time and answer questions such as:
- Why am I in business?
- What am I trying to accomplish with my employees?
- What am I trying to accomplish within my industry or area?
- What part(s) of society am I trying to serve?
- Why is my image so important to this organization?
- What is the purpose of this organization?
At the same time you answer the above questions, in essence, you also create your organizational culture. This process helps organizations identify the specifics of the culture: for example, to enhance productivity, to maximize a return on investment, etc. And, most importantly, your mission and vision are catalysts for obtaining buy-in from every employee who has a relationship with the business.
If yours is a learning organization, you might be interested in reviewing a few techniques that can help you avoid some common mistakes:
- Identify the purpose of the organization. Have you ever read a company’s mission statement, one that includes run-on sentences and tends to go on and on, and you end up wondering, “What is it exactly that they do?” Your mission should identify exactly what you will do in order to succeed.
- Understand the significance of being ‘culture-specific’ to the business. In other words, you want to do and say exactly what you’re going to do—behind closed doors—the same as how the outside world sees you. Businesses should treat their employees in exactly the same way as they do their vendors and customers. Also, some organizations will include statements about how creative, how analytical, how respectful, etc. they are in their business pursuits.
- Include components that speak to your values and ethics with a focus on integrity. You want to make sure that you identify your priorities. Identify those elements that help you demonstrate a commitment to the integrity of the organization and to its products, services, etc., which also extends to the well-being of society. You might also value ideals such as innovation, so you will want to incorporate those elements into your operations development.
- Make sure your mission and vision statements have buy-in from every single ‘C’ level member of the organization. This step cannot be overstated. An organization’s C level members need to be well-versed in these statements, in order for them to be well received by others. Remember, too, future employees may be attracted to your organization by what you say in these statements; and prospective employees may want to work for a company that they feel aligned with and that conducts business in certain expressed ways.
As a final note: You’re not alone if the process seems like a struggle. I’ve worked with people within organizations who take months, even up to a year, developing their mission and vision statements. Although your final statements may only be a couple of sentences, you should plan on doing a lot of brainstorming. For instance, you will want to discuss what you want to accomplish; how you see employees moving the business forward and how you want to be perceived in the market and by others, etc.
By taking time to work through the process, I believe that you will find it well worth the effort. I’ve seen it happen where effective mission and vision statements help lead the charge toward increased revenues, higher sales, increased employee retention and other significant bottom line improvements.