Have you heard the phrase "putting the cart before the horse?" It's a funny thought, picturing a horse standing behind something it's meant to pull. It's used to describe situations where things are out of order and need to be corrected before moving forward. Sometimes, when I'm consulting with corporations, I wonder if it's not being taught as a management technique in MBA programs.
This comes to me very clearly when helping them craft mission and vision statements. A mission statement is the actions your organization takes, and the vision statement is the why-- the long-term goals to be accomplished. Vision is the horse pulling the mission cart. You cannot create a powerful and authentic vision from a mission, and a mission without a vision leads to employees that don't understand the value of all their work and become disengaged.
There is an apocryphal story of JFK visiting NASA in the early years of the Moon Landing mission, where he encountered a man mopping the floor. The president asked him what he did there, and he excitedly responded, "I'm helping to put a man on the moon!" I don't know if this is true or not, but it's a great story illustrating what can happen when vision is fully communicated and connected to the mission.
Creating an Effective Vision Statement
Before creating a vision statement, you need to understand that it is not a mission statement. Mission statements describe what the company does to both employees and customers. A vision statement is based on future goals and is meant as inspiration and direction to employees. It's to help motivate them and understand how even the most minor task helps move the organization forward in that direction.
When creating or revamping your mission statement, there are three questions that you should ask yourself:
- What is your vision? What is the thing that you believe could genuinely make the world a better place? Is it ensuring that no child goes hungry? Or that small business owners should have more time to spend with their families? There are no wrong answers to this question-- you are expressing what you believe is the solution to something that needs addressing.
- Who does it serve? Who does your vision ultimately impact? It may be more than just the audience you have in mind. If you are focused on small business owners, you are affecting more than just one person. That small business owner is part of a family and a community.
- How does it serve them? Small business owners have more time to invest in their families and communities when they have more free time. They can also spend more time taking care of themselves and feel less stress, resulting in longer life expectancy and lower healthcare costs. As you look at your vision, notate all the benefits that can be found from it. You may not use all of them in crafting your vision statement, but it can help create a better focus for your company.
Once you've answered these questions, you are equipped to create your vision and mission statements. In the example of small business owners, a vision statement could be, "We believe small business owners should spend more time with their families." The mission statement might be "We provide affordable time-saving software solutions to small business owners."
Creating a vision statement can seem like fluff, but it is indeed the heart and soul of your organization. It must be something that your employees can understand and support. This may require revisiting and revising it to reflect updated language and understanding from time to time, but it's a worthwhile investment in employee engagement, performance, and retention.
0 comments