Mission and Vision

Vision: What the company Contributes or wants to Contribute to Society.

• Transcendent, Qualitative and Long Term Goals .

 

Mission: How the Company Contributes to Society.

• What the Company does. Actions you can See and Touch.

The Vision gives a Reason for the Uniqueness of a Company.

• The reason Why a Company exists.

 

The Mission reflects what the Company does, its “Real Job”.

• The Tasks it Performs, which anyone can Understand immediately.

 

That’s Why Visions tend to seem more “Pretentious” than Missions.

 

Mission and Vision example

 

Let’s imagine that your were Jeff Bezos in the early days of Amazon.

 

You were sure that, in the future, most of the Sales would be done Online.

• That is Why you started your Company.

 

The Mission of this recently created Company (Amazon) is:

• To Sell products online at good Prices all around the World.
  • Initially, Amazon Focused only on Books.

 

Once your Operations Started, you asked yourself:

• What Role should Amazon play in an online interconnected Retail Market?
• How can Amazon Contribute to Society?
  • In a Deeper way.

 

You then define the Vision of Amazon:

• To make life easier to People all around the world, by simplifying the Retail Market and bringing Access to it to everyone.

 

* These are not Amazon’s official Mission and Vision Statements.

• Although the Real ones are very similar, we have invented these ones to make you Understand their difference in an easier way.

Now, before sharing more examples, we want to clarify a common question:

• What comes first… The Mission or the Vision?

The Mission.

• All Businesses in Operation have a Mission.
  • Even if they haven’t thought about it.

 

Why?

• The Mission describes What you actually do.

And, therefore, every Company has one.

It is What they do on a daily basis.

 

However a Vision is a deeper Reflection.

• And Not all Companies do this Reflection since it is not a Primary need.

 

That is Why Visions come after Missions.

 

However…

You could have a Vision and then Start a Company to fulfill it.

• This is rare, but it could happen in NGOs and Philanthropic Institutions.

We have created 3 different examples to give you a better Understanding of What Mission and Vision are.

 

Let’s see what we can learn:

 

Think about a Bank. Any Bank.

Do you think they have Missions and Visions?

 

Of Course they have.

What can be the Mission and Vision of a Bank? For example:

 

Mission

• We provide our Clients with the Best access to Credit with the Best Conditions.

 

Vision

• We want to help People reach their Dreams by offering our Financial Security.

 

What about a Small Craft Company?

• A company with, for example, one single Employee.

 

Mission

• We create High Quality Handcrafted Products with a high degree of Customization.

 

Vision

• We want to help people Reconnect with Traditional Products and their Past.

 

Let’s imagine that you believe in Universal Healthcare.

• You strongly Believe that Everybody should have access to Health Care.

 

Therefore, you decide to Start an NGO to bring Healthcare to the People who don’t have access to it.

 

In this case, the Vision comes First.

• Because you create a Company to fulfill your Vision.

 

Vision

• To bring Health Care to Those Who can’t access it, improving their lives.

 

Mission

• We create Small Hospitals in Rural Undeveloped Areas and Train Local People.

Vision: What the company Contributes or wants to Contribute to Society.

• It gives a Reason for the Uniqueness of a Company.

 

Mission: How the Company Contributes to Society.

• The Tasks it Performs, which anyone can Understand immediately.

 

All Businesses in Operation have a Mission.

However, a Vision is a deeper Reflection.

• Therefore, not all Companies do this Reflection since it is not a Primary need.

 

That is Why Visions come after Missions.