My inner Isis (you’ll remember her from my Goddess of Vision post) is pretty ticked off, and she’s been that way since Thursday when I had a conversation that went something like this…
Me: Can you articulate your vision for the organization?
Him: Yes, we have a vision statement.
Me: All I see is a mission statement.
Him: Same thing.
Me: Aaaaaaak! – pain, searing pain – please! for Zeus’s sake stop the pain! or just poke my eye out with his lightning bolt while you’re at it why don’t you…!!!
Um, ok so perhaps that’s a bit melodramatic and I didn’t actually say that out loud – but it’s an accurate depiction of my inner response! It has never failed to astonish me that leaders have such a difficult time understanding the difference between Vision and Mission when it comes to their businesses.
Many moons ago I taught leadership training for the Baxter Institute, and one of the things I was able to focus on was helping our corporate leaders understand the difference between the two, and then distill them down to objectives, strategies and tactics.
You can’t be in business without a mission, but it’s your vision that makes all the difference.
So, my mission for this post is to help you understand why this is true… Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to never confuse the two again if I am successful in my mission. Are you game?
Ok, let’s look at one organization that I believe portrays the difference between the two beautifully – The World Wildlife Fund.
Let’s take a look at their Mission Statement (Which they have written to include their strategies, objectives and a measurable goal):
“WWF’s mission is the conservation of nature.
Using the best available scientific knowledge and advancing that knowledge where we can, we work to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth and the health of ecological systems by…”
Strategies:
- protecting natural areas and wild populations of plants and animals, including endangered species;
- promoting sustainable approaches to the use of renewable natural resources; and
- promoting more efficient use of resources and energy and the maximum reduction of pollution.
Objectives:
- We are committed to reversing the degradation of our planet’s natural environment
- (…And we are committed) to building a future in which human needs are met in harmony with nature
Goal
- By 2020 WWF will conserve 19 of the world’s most important natural places and significantly change global markets to protect the future of nature.
Great – I think by reading that we all get a pretty clear understanding of what the organization stands for and what they will work to accomplish.
Now, if you’re someone who believes in this type of mission you are probably interested in what they’re doing and attracted to the organization. You may even decide to donate to their efforts or contribute a bit more to help Leonardo DiCaprio save the tigers. And really, wouldn’t all of our inner goddesses like to help Leo in any way that we can…? Ahem…yes, you’re right, I digress.
Now let’s take a look at their Vision Statement, and see what happens…
“We seek to save a planet, a world of life. Reconciling the needs of human beings and the needs of others that share the Earth, we seek to practice conservation that is humane in the broadest sense. We seek to instill in people everywhere a discriminating, yet unabashed, reverence for nature and to balance that reverence with a profound belief in human possibilities.
From the smallest community to the largest multinational organization, we seek to inspire others who can advance the cause of conservation. We seek to be the voice for those creatures who have no voice. We speak for their future. We seek to apply the wealth of our talents, knowledge, and passion to making the world wealthier in life, in spirit, and in living wonder of nature.
Can you feel, taste, touch, smell and SEE the vast difference?!
- It’s the vision statement that brings their mission to life, portrays it in vibrant colors and gives it wings.
- It’s the vision that, if you believed in the mission, would make you want to work tirelessly to help them accomplish their mission, would inspire your passion to be an evangelist in any way that you could, and will inspire the necessary drive to bring such audacious goals to fruition.
- It’s the vision that sets the organization apart from any other conservation organization with similar goals.
- It’s the vision that makes all the difference in how your brand comes to life.
I believe it’s no accident that the WWF CEO, Carter Roberts, is pictured prominently on the page with the Vision – not the page with the Mission. I suspect that when talking with the Board of Directors and with governments across the globe he’s talking Mission, objectives, strategies, and measurable goals.
But the CEO’s role when talking with donors, employees, communities and evangelists is to communicate the vision and bring it to life. Those are the people whose hearts he must win…it’s the vision that enables him to do so.
Guess what? He’s clearly fulfilling this role – just take a look at his “Notes” on the right side of the Vision page – his latest notes on “Hope in the Himalayas” has the word “vision” in the first sentence. His notes from September of last year are about “the stars aligning.”
By having a clear vision for the organization, communicating it passionately and consistently, the WWF is much better positioned to win hearts and minds, organically encourage evangelism, get communities on board with their mission, and dramatically increase revenues. I believe these are real and measurable business-altering differences between a business mission and its vision.
So, have I accomplished my mission?
If so, I hope you’ll take a close look at your company and determine whether or not your organization has a clear vision, and if you as a leader are communicating it enthusiastically and using it as your company’s North Star.
Now, you’ve got to live up to your mission as well! Never confuse the two again…or face the wrath of the gods!
Please share your thoughts in the comments…I learn so much from my readers! (I’d also be honored if you’d consider subscribing here!)
The beautiful photo is called Reflective Mood by Kansas Poetry.
16 Response Comments
I’ve occasionally heard people ask “What’s your company’s mantra?” and “What’s your company’s credo?” -wondering if these could be articulated as a mission or vision statement.
Darryl,
When I looked up “mantra” in Wikipedia it defines it as “a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of “creating transformation.” That is absolutely your vision.
I suspect that when people ask this they are really asking, “Why should I care about your company?” “What makes you different?” “What gives you color (so to speak) that will make me perk up and want to know more…?”
That’s your chance to talk about your vision – share it from the heart however briefly, and get them to want to know more!
I’m so glad you commented, Darryl – I really appreciate it and hope you found the post helpful. 🙂
Lisa,
I think I have it: a mission is a given, whether it is spoken or not; however, a vision will fuel the engine of success.
Now the questions, as I see them, are:
1. Why do people (business leaders) struggle with these concepts and their subtleties?
2. Once they get through the struggle and actually define their vision why are people (business leaders) reluctant to publish their vision statement? (very hard to find on most commercial websites).
To me it all comes down to accountability and a word that, at best, is fuzzy… vision. I mean if you just take out an ordinary dictionary and look up the word “vision” most of the definitions are filled with verbs like this: sensing, anticipating, hallucinating, perceiving, imagining, discerning, seeing. The word “vision” doesn’t seem concrete.
Maybe if we started very young to think of life with mission statements and vision statements it would be easier for the new entrepreneur to articulate both. I remember being a fairly young executive and we were having a workshop with Human Resources. Someone asked us to write down our five year and 10 year goals. How far do you think this exercise progressed before the HR person had lost control?
You see if I state a goal with a vision and I announce it to my world (parents, sibling, peers, high-school counselor, mentor, professors, spouse, business partner, friends, neighbors, relatives) then not only will people know when I succeed, they will almost certainly know when I fail.
This is a scary proposition. Publishing a vision statement forces one to be accountable, for better or worse. Or at least it should.
LG Life’s Good
“LG’s vision is to deliver innovative digital products and services that make our customers’ lives better, easier and happier through increased functionality and fun.”
It is a great vision statement, but they don’t always execute the mission to achieve the vision.
I was not having fun the evening I discovered the casing around the refrigerator light was melting and it smelled funny. When I called customer service they demanded that I pull the fridge away from the wall and unplug it. When I questioned why, they said it could start a fire! Imagine if I had not been home. It took over a month for them to agree to fix this 18 month old refrigerator. Mine was not an isolated case and they knew it.
Last evening I came across a quote:
“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
This quote is often attributed to Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) and also to Jack Welch (1935…)
Do you know who really said it first?
P.S. I would love to feature you and this post on my new blog Judy’s OP-ED. http://judysoped.blogspot.com/
What do you think of that idea?
Judy,
My concern is that part of what drives this is the very short-term focus on results and the fact that many executive tenures are so short. This may inhibit an ability to think boldly about what the organization can really become if it challenges itself to an audacious vision.
You are also right about fear of failure – if I tell you what I’m working towards and I don’t seem to be making any progress towards that vision will you judge me harshly? Is it safer just to follow the mission and hope it gets me somewhere?
My experience is that a mission with no vision leads organizations to walk in circles…
I love the quote – absolutely embrace it! Thank you for sharing it. And yes, I would be honored to be featured on your blog. 🙂
Thanks so much for this post, Lisa. I’ve had trouble understanding the difference between the two, but now I can grasp the subtleties.
Is it too simplistic to say that a mission statement conveys information, while a vision statement conveys inspiration? Or in other words, mission is what we do and vision is why we do it. (I like to boil things down into something succinct and easy to remember.)
Hi Connie,
If you want to boil it down I like to do it this way:
the Mission is why you are in business (perhaps something like to provide social media consulting services to companies with revenues under $10 million) whereas the Vision is what brings that to life, defines how *you* or the business will do this in such a way to entirely separate you from everyone else, and shares what you are working *towards* – what it (the world/your community, however you define this) will look like if you are successful with your mission.
If you look at the WWF Mission, “conservation of the environment,” it really could apply to so many organizations of different sizes and goals. What sets them apart is the Vision – they talk about what they as an organization seek to do and the phrase at the end, “making the world wealthier in life, in spirit, and in living wonder of nature” is what they are truly envisioning as they work daily on their mission. I can actually see a picture in my mind of the day that the world is wealthier in life, in spirit, and in living wonder of nature.” That’s what they are working *towards* as their vision.
Does this help?
So honored that you stopped by and took the time to comment – thank you, Connie!
Yes, that helps! Now I can clearly see how it is Vision that is necessary for a successful branding effort — because that is what distinguishes you from the competition. This discussion has been helpful — I fell in that group embarrassed to admit I could not enunciate the mission/vision difference. You made me smarter.
Vision is a direction contrary to current capabilities that require a wholesale reallocation of resources in an organization. Vision drives strategy selection. Mission drives decision making across all scales within an organization. Vision is an AsIf (dream, if you will), where strategy is a WIF (forecast). Vision is independent. Strategy is dependent.
I don’t see that your vision statement is different from your mission statement. The difference between the two should be more than a communications approach.
Vision leads, mission and strategy follows.
Hi David,
I agree with you – your vision absolutely drives your strategy.
But your mission is very different from the vision. Think about it this way: What if I always wanted to open an Italian restaurant and I finally had the money to do so. My mission might be something like preparing and offering the finest Northern Italian cuisine made with the freshest local ingredients. But my vision – whether I want to be the local family hangout for lunch and dinner or a very high-brow, luxury branded restaurant for the well-heeled and well-connected – would determine my decor, my pricing, my hours, my plating – all of my strategies would be based on the vision of how I bring that mission to life. And yes, it is definitely more than a communications approach – it’s the HOW behind the WHAT. 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment – I really appreciate it!
I see a vision as something to aspire to. I see the mission as something we do everyday based on our values in order to get there.
Shaun, I think that’s a nice start. The vision should be something you are working toward, and yes – it is an aspiration. All the best!