Vision and Mission - What's the difference and why does it matter?
Unleash the power of your Vision and Mission.
Post published by Jennell Evans on Apr 24, 2010 in Smart@Work
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/smartwork/201004/vision-and-missionwhats-the-difference-and-why-does-it-matter
In a previous blog, I provided an overview of strategic planning processes, including
six core elements essential to any successful strategic plan. The six core elements
are as follows:
Vision
Mission
Core Values
Strategic Areas of Focus
Strategic Goals
Action Plans
For over 18 years, I have facilitated strategic planning initiatives with many diverse
organizations. From my experience, I believe there is a lot of confusion regarding the
difference between a Vision and Mission statement. I regularly see Vision statements
that are actually Mission statements and vice versa -- from Fortune 500's, nonprofits,
and government agencies. I also see well-intended Vision and Mission statements
that are uninspiring, confusing, and so long that they are impossible for anyone to
remember!
Why does it matter if there is confusion about Vision and Mission statements, or if
they are written in a certain way? For the same reasons it is fundamental and
valuable for any organization to have a strategic plan as a roadmap for success, it is
important to develop a plan around a clearly defined and well written Vision and
Mission. Both serve important, yet different roles as core elements of a strategic
plan.
The absence of, or poorly written Vision and Mission statements, are lost
opportunities for:

Attracting/engaging/retaining talent;

Building organizational culture; and,

Increasing productivity while leveraging all resources to successfully implement
a strategic plan.
A study by Bain and Company
(link is external) indicated that organizations that
have clearly defined Vision and Mission statements that are aligned with a strategic
plan, outperform those who do not.
In this blog, I will explain the difference between a Vision and Mission statement from
an organizational development perspective, include real world examples, and
expand on the benefits they bring to an organization.
What is a Vision Statement?
A Vision Statement:

Defines the optimal desired future state - the mental picture - of what an
organization wants to achieve over time;

Provides guidance and inspiration as to what an organization is focused on
achieving in five, ten, or more years;

Functions as the "north star" - it is what all employees understand their work
every day ultimately contributes towards accomplishing over the long term;
and,

Is written succinctly in an inspirational manner that makes it easy for all
employees to repeat it at any given time.
Leaders may change, but a clearly established Vision encourages people to focus on
what's important and better understand organization-wide change and alignment of
resources.
Defining an organization's Vision is not always easy for senior leadership to do.
James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner wrote an article about this challenge for
Harvard Business Review, "To Lead, Create a Shared Vision(link is external)."
Kouzes and Posner, also creators of "The Leadership Practices Inventory," analyzed
responses from over one million leaders about this. The data indicated that one of
the things leaders struggle with the most is "communicating an image of the future
that draws others in - that speaks to what others see and feel." Kouzes and Posner's
research also indicated that "being forward-looking - envisioning exciting possibilities
and enlisting others in a shared view of the future - is the attribute that most
distinguishes leaders from non-leaders."
Examples of effective Vision statements include:
Alzheimer's Association: "Our Vision is a world without Alzheimer's disease."
Avon: "To be the company that best understands and satisfies the product, service
and self-fulfillment needs of women - globally."
Norfolk Southern: "Be the safest, most customer-focused and successful
transportation company in the world."
Microsoft: "Empower people through great software anytime, anyplace, and on any
device."
Reston Association: "Leading the model community where all can live, work, and
play."
What is a Mission Statement?
A Mission statement:

Defines the present state or purpose of an organization;

Answers three questions about why an organization exists -
WHAT it does;
WHO it does it for; and
HOW it does what it does.

Is written succinctly in the form of a sentence or two, but for a shorter
timeframe (one to three years) than a Vision statement; and,

Is something that all employees should be able to articulate upon request.
Some businesses may refine their Mission statement based on changing economic
realities or unexpected responses from consumers.
For example, some companies are launched to provide specific products or services;
yet, they may realize that changing WHAT they do, or WHO they do it for, or HOW
they do what they do, will enable them to grow the business faster and more
successfully. Understanding the Mission gives employees a better perspective on
how their job contributes to achieving it, which can increase engagement, retention,
and productivity.
Having a clearly defined Mission statement also helps employees better understand
things like company-wide decisions, organizational changes, and resource
allocation, thereby lessening resistance and workplace conflicts.
Examples of effective Mission statements include:
Erie Insurance: "To provide our policyholders with as near perfect protection, as
near perfect service as is humanly possible and to do so at the lowest possible cost."
NatureAir: "To offer travelers a reliable, innovative and fun airline to travel in Central
America."
Nissan: "Nissan provides unique and innovative automotive products and services
that deliver superior, measurable values to all stakeholders in alliance with Renault."
St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company: "To lead the Canadian specialty
commercial insurance industry through innovation, expertise and by providing
products and services to satisfy the needs and exceed the expectations of our
customers and business partners.
Target: "Our mission is to make Target the preferred shopping destination for our
guests by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and an exceptional
guest experience by consistently fulfilling our Expect More. Pay Less.® brand
promise."
If there is no downside to having a clear Vision and Mission, why do some
organizations not have them, or have poorly written ones on their websites, lobby
walls, brochures, etc.? Some of the reasons I've heard are:

"It takes too much time to develop them."

"We will never reach consensus."

"Our CEO wrote our Vision, which we know is more like a Mission statement
with our values mixed

in, but no one is going to question it."
"Everyone that works here already knows what we do, so what is the benefit of
writing a statement about it?

"We have our goals - who needs a Vision or Mission?

"It's expensive to take people away from their real job to focus on it."

"Actually defining our Vision and Mission will mean changes in the organization
- who has time to deal with more resistance to change?"
In my opinion, none of these reasons outweigh the benefits of having a well-written
Vision and Mission statement. If an organization cannot define it's "reason for
existing (Mission) or "where it is going" (Vision), how can it align people, processes,
products or services towards a successful future?
Not having a clearly defined Vision and Mission limits opportunities for the
organization's success, and is a disservice to employees who show up for work
every day. If an organization wants engaged and productive employees, it should
make sure that they know how their work contributes to accomplishing the Mission
(current state) and ultimately to the Vision (future state).
In addition to other benefits already mentioned, a clear Vision and Mission statement
can:

Strengthen culture through a unified sense of purpose;

Improve decision-making with clarity about "big picture;" and,

Enhance cross-functional relationships through a shared understanding of
priorities.
It's never too late for an organization to define its Vision and Mission. Some even
reinvent themselves through the strategic planning process, beginning with these
two core elements.
Different approaches for developing a Vision and Mission range from online tools for
self-directed work groups, to engaging a professional strategic planner to facilitate
the group discussions and manage the development process over a period of
several months.
Regardless of how an organization creates an effective Vision and Mission
statement, it is important that they be embedded into the culture through clear and
consistent communications from the highest levels of an organization.
As Jack Welch(link is external), Chairman, General Electric said, "Good business
leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and
relentlessly drive it to completion."
What about you and your organization? Do you know what your organization's Vision
and Mission statements are? Can you articulate them? If so, how have they
impacted the culture?
How to Identify Your Customer Touchpoints
https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/identify-customer-touchpoints/
Improve customer satisfaction by looking at all your touchpoints.
Every business wants to improve customer satisfaction, but unless you have your
customer in mind at every touchpoint, there’s a chance you’re dropping the ball.
You might always deliver a great product, on time, with a smile, but a wayward
touchpoint like off-target advertising, billing mistakes, or an unwieldy website can
scare customers off. Fortunately, most of these touchpoints are within your control.
All you have to do is identify them–all of them!–and start getting feedback.
What are customer touchpoints?
Customer touchpoints are your brand’s points of customer contact, from start to
finish. For example, customers may find your business online or in an ad, see ratings
and reviews, visit your website, shop at your retail store, or contact your customer
service. Seems like a long list, but these are just a few of your touchpoints!
So what are touchpoints?
Touchpoint definition: A touchpoint is any time a potential customer or
customer comes in contact with your brand–before, during, or after they
purchase something from you.
Identifying your touchpoints is the first step toward creating a customer journey map,
and making sure your customers are satisfied every step of the way.
Here’s how to take all of your touchpoints into account so you don’t miss an
opportunity to listen to your customers and make improvements that will keep them
happy.
Finding your customer touchpoints
Identify your customer touchpoints by making a list of all the places and times your
customers might come into contact with your brand. We’ve put together a list of
touchpoints here, but it can vary a lot depending on your business.
Remember: This list is a good place to start, but it’s not one-size-fits-all. And each of
these touchpoints can have a lot of underlying pieces. For example, “advertising”
could include touchpoints across many channels, and a physical store includes
touchpoints like signage to help people find the store, the parking lot, and the many
different interactions that go on inside the store.
Worried about missing touchpoints? Put yourself in the customer’s shoes.
Because there are so many ways for customers to experience your brand, figuring
out all of your touchpoints may seem daunting at first. But you can make this task
more manageable by stepping out of your role–and into the customer’s shoes.
You’re the customer now. Make sure you have a pen and paper handy because you
should take notes while you’re in the customer mindset.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Where do you go (and how do you get there) when you:

Have a problem that needs to be solved?

Discover the product or business that will solve that problem?

Make your purchase decision?
Encounter the business after the purchase?
When you walk yourself through the customer’s journey step-by-step, all the pieces
should become pretty clear.

You could also accomplish this task by asking customers to walk you through their
experience with your brand, or putting the questions above into a survey.
How to use your touchpoints map to gather customer feedback
Knowing your touchpoints is only half the battle. To improve customer satisfaction,
you need to make sure each touchpoint leads to a good customer experience, and
that the journey as a whole delivers on customers’ expectations.
To see what’s working, you can run customer feedback surveys at each major
touchpoint or set up customer experience management software. But make sure
not lose sight of the big picture, so always look at your entire customer journey.
Learn more about why every organization should measure customer satisfaction.
SWOT Analysis
Discover New Opportunities, Manage and Eliminate Threats
Find out more about SWOT, with James Manktelow and Amy Carlson.
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm
SWOT Analysis is a useful technique for understanding your Strengths and
Weaknesses, and for identifying both the Opportunities open to you and the Threats
you face.
Used in a business context, it helps you carve a sustainable niche in your market.
Used in a personal context , it helps you develop your career in a way that takes
best advantage of your talents, abilities and opportunities.
This article looks at how to use SWOT in a business context.
Business SWOT Analysis
What makes SWOT particularly powerful is that, with a little thought, it can help you
uncover opportunities that you are well-placed to exploit. And by understanding the
weaknesses of your business, you can manage and eliminate threats that would
otherwise catch you unawares.
More than this, by looking at yourself and your competitors using the SWOT
framework, you can start to craft a strategy that helps you distinguish yourself from
your competitors, so that you can compete successfully in your market.
How to Use the Tool
Originated by Albert S Humphrey in the 1960s, the tool is as useful now as it was
then. You can use it in two ways – as a simple icebreaker helping people get together
to "kick off" strategy formulation, or in a more sophisticated way as a serious strategy
tool.
Tip:
Strengths and weaknesses are often internal to your organization, while opportunities and
threats generally relate to external factors. For this reason, SWOT is sometimes called
Internal-External Analysis and the SWOT Matrix is sometimes called an IE Matrix.
To help you to carry out your analysis, download and print off our free worksheet,
and write down answers to the following questions.
Strengths

What advantages does your organization have?

What do you do better than anyone else?

What unique or lowest-cost resources can you draw upon that others can't?

What do people in your market see as your strengths?

What factors mean that you "get the sale"?

What is your organization's Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
Consider your strengths from both an internal perspective, and from the point of
view of your customers and people in your market.
Also, if you're having any difficulty identifying strengths, try writing down a list of
your organization's characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths!
When looking at your strengths, think about them in relation to your competitors.
For example, if all of your competitors provide high quality products, then a high
quality production process is not a strength in your organization's market, it's a
necessity.
Weaknesses

What could you improve?

What should you avoid?

What are people in your market likely to see as weaknesses?

What factors lose you sales?
Again, consider this from an internal and external basis: Do other people seem to
perceive weaknesses that you don't see? Are your competitors doing any better than
you?
It's best to be realistic now, and face any unpleasant truths as soon as possible.
Opportunities

What good opportunities can you spot?

What interesting trends are you aware of?
Useful opportunities can come from such things as:

Changes in technology and markets on both a broad and narrow scale.

Changes in government policy related to your field.

Changes in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, and so on.

Local events.
Tip:
A useful approach when looking at opportunities is to look at your strengths and ask yourself
whether these open up any opportunities. Alternatively, look at your weaknesses and ask
yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them.
Threats

What obstacles do you face?

What are your competitors doing?

Are quality standards or specifications for your job, products or services changing?

Is changing technology threatening your position?

Do you have bad debt or cash-flow problems?

Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your business?
Tip:
When looking at opportunities and threats, PEST Analysis can help to ensure that you
don't overlook external factors, such as new government regulations, or technological
changes in your industry.
Further SWOT Tips
If you're using SWOT as a serious tool (rather than as a casual "warm up" for strategy
formulation), make sure you're rigorous in the way you apply it:

Only accept precise, verifiable statements ("Cost advantage of $10/ton in sourcing raw
material x", rather than "Good value for money").

Ruthlessly prune long lists of factors, and prioritize them, so that you spend your time
thinking about the most significant factors.
Make sure that options generated are carried through to later stages in the strategy
formation process.


Apply it at the right level – for example, you might need to apply the tool at a product or
product-line level, rather than at the much vaguer whole company level.

Use it in conjunction with other strategy tools (for example, USP Analysis andCore
Competence Analysis ) so that you get a comprehensive picture of the situation you're
dealing with.
Note:
You could also consider using the TOWS Matrix . This is quite similar to SWOT in that
it also focuses on the same four elements of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats. But TOWS can be a helpful alternative because it emphasizes the external
environment, while SWOT focuses on the internal environment.
Example
A start-up small consultancy business might draw up the following SWOT Analysis:
Strengths

We are able to respond very quickly as we have no red tape, and no need for higher
management approval.

We are able to give really good customer care, as the current small amount of work means
we have plenty of time to devote to customers.

Our lead consultant has strong reputation in the market.

We can change direction quickly if we find that our marketing is not working.

We have low overheads, so we can offer good value to customers.
Weaknesses

Our company has little market presence or reputation.

We have a small staff, with a shallow skills base in many areas.

We are vulnerable to vital staff being sick, and leaving.

Our cash flow will be unreliable in the early stages.
Opportunities

Our business sector is expanding, with many future opportunities for success.

Local government wants to encourage local businesses.

Our competitors may be slow to adopt new technologies.
Threats

Developments in technology may change this market beyond our ability to adapt.

A small change in the focus of a large competitor might wipe out any market position we
achieve.
As a result of their analysis, the consultancy may decide to specialize in rapid
response, good value services to local businesses and local government.
Marketing would be in selected local publications to get the greatest possible market
presence for a set advertising budget, and the consultancy should keep up-to-date
with changes in technology where possible.
Key Points
SWOT Analysis is a simple but useful framework for analyzing your organization's strengths
and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats that you face. It helps you focus on your
strengths, minimize threats, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities
available to you.
It can be used to "kick off" strategy formulation, or in a more sophisticated way as a serious
strategy tool. You can also use it to get an understanding of your competitors, which can give
you the insights you need to craft a coherent and successful competitive position.
When carrying out your analysis, be realistic and rigorous. Apply it at the right level, and
supplement it with other option-generation tools where appropriate.