A mission statement is as important as your business model – it’s about capturing the essential goals and philosophy of the company in one sentence. In addition, it also serves to inform employees, customers, and suppliers what the cowompany is about.
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What is a mission?
The mission expresses why the company exists, the needs to fulfill the mission, the customers to be reached, and the products and services offered.
It must be broad, specific, motivating, and attainable. In addition, the business area must be identified, specifying the products and market, and defining the resources and capacities that the organization has to discover and detail the competitive advantages.
Mission Statement and Core Values
A mission statement defines the purpose or reason for the company’s existence, while values are positive qualities that a company possesses, such as the pursuit of excellence, community development, and employee development.
In short, the mission and values give identity to the organization. Next, we will learn what a mission statement is and how to establish a company’s values.
What is a mission statement?
A mission statement is the “why” of business strategy, being a valuable tool for well-managed businesses.
Developing your company’s mission statement is your opportunity to define the objectives, ethics, culture, and standards of the company for decision-making; it is about expressing that the organization has a purpose.
A precise and compelling mission statement will set you apart from your competitors, so you won’t only have to compete with other companies solely on price or discounts.
How to define a mission statement?
Mission statements often raise several important questions such as:
- What is the purpose of the organization?
- What does the organization have that makes it unique?
- What are the top products and markets?
- In what position do you hope to find yourself in five or ten years?
What are the values of a company?
The values of a company are the set of ethical and professional principles by which the company chooses to guide its activities and denote its spirit in some way. Values are the “personality” of the company since they summarize the way the organization operates and acts.
The values reflect the actual, current ethical principles on which the company culture is based.
How to define the values of a company?
Values serve to define the ethical principles of your company or business. A company with values attracts and retains professional talent, which leads to more sales and better business results.
Some questions you might ask yourself are:
- What is the value proposition of your business?
- What is the organization’s strategy, and how does it contribute to its achievement?
- What are the corporate values that distinguish your organization over others?
- How do you fit into the organization?
- What are your ethical principles?
Vision Statement
We have already mentioned what the mission is; it is time to find out what the vision of a business or project is about.
What is a vision?
A vision is an ideal image of a business or project in the future. It’s an aspiration or ambition, which must be shared by all who are part of the initiative, directing what the company should be in the future.
Once the vision of the company is defined, all decisions and actions are fixed at this point. Vision represents the essence that guides the business initiative and the force that aids the company push through difficult times.
How to define the vision of your company?
Although there are several approaches, here are some fundamental questions you should ask:
- Who are we, and what is our reason for being?
- Where are we headed, and why?
- What information do we need to make decisions?
- What are the most critical issues and problems?
- What resources do we have?
These questions will clarify the strategic factors that must be considered and allow you to create preliminary versions for the mission, vision, and values.
Kevin Starr, an American historian and an academic at Stanford University, proposed a practical and straightforward methodology, known as the Eight-Word Mission Statement, which must include the following elements:
- A verb
- A target population
- A measurable result
We recommend that your company shall explore its history, context, and aspirations. Although there is no perfect formula, one of the keys is to reach consensus among those involved, carrying out an inclusive and participatory process.
Best Mission Statement Examples (and Vision Statements) of Large Companies
- Mission: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
- Vision: “To provide access to the world’s information in one click.”
- Mission: “To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.”
- Vision: “People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.”
Spotify
- Mission: “To unlock the potential of human creativity by allowing a million creative artists to live off their art and billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by these creators.”
- Vision: “We envision a cultural platform where professional creators can break free of their medium’s constraints and where everyone can enjoy an immersive artistic experience that enables us to empathize with each other and to feel part of a greater whole.”
Microsoft
- Mission: “To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”
- Vision: “to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential.”
Coca Cola
- Mission: “To refresh the world in mind, body, and spirit, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness through our brands and actions, and to create value and make a difference.”
- Vision: “To craft the brands and choice of drinks that people love, to refresh them in body & spirit. And done in ways that create a more sustainable business and better-shared future that makes a difference in people’s lives, communities, and our planet.”
When we look through many business plans and company profiles in Malaysia, many organizations include a mission statement and a vision statement. Still, most of them are simple, generic, rather than reflecting the real essence and meaning.
Both mission and vision statements should precisely clarify the company’s intentions so that employees and stakeholders have a clear direction and purpose.
So, how can Word Philocaly help you?
With over 12 years in business writing and copywriting, Word Philocaly is recognized as one of Malaysia’s most experienced copywriting and content writing companies.
Our team has consulted and helped hundreds of companies globally craft their business plans, company profiles, websites, landing pages, social media, business proposals, among many others. Our writing and business prowess play an integral part in transforming many companies into profitable businesses.
Reach out today so that we can help you write a company profile or business plan with powerful and effective mission, vision, and value statements.
