Your Mission and Purpose

You might have come across businesses using Mission and Vision statements. You might think this is something only big companies do with too much time on their hands! Or a corporate box ticking exercise!

True as that might be, but having a clear direction of travel is vital for any size business. If you don’t have a clear idea of where you want to go, how on earth are you going to plan the steps to get there? It’s like driving in the dark with no lights on!

I’ve seen too many business owners flip flap between different ideas and solutions! But unfortunately this often stems from not having a laser focused approach to the bigger picture!

You need to be clear in your own mind what your Mission is. And if you really want to go for it...think about your Vision too!

Then, importantly, record this down somewhere….don’t just leave it in your mind! Writing things down has a habit of making things happen!

For those of you who might be wondering what is a Mission and Vision statement. Think of it this way:

Your Mission is your purpose. It’s what you practically aim to achieve as a business and what you do to get closer to your Vision.

Your Vision is what you hope and dream to achieve.

An example of this is Tesla:

Their Mission is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy --- This is clearly a practical aim.

Their Vision is to create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world's transition to electric vehicles --- Being ‘ the most compelling’ is their vision to where they want to be.

Don;t forget your Mission and Vision statement is not only about helping you and your people keep on track and align marketing and communications. It is also an integral part of brand building. It tells your existing and potential customers why you do what you do and sets you apart from your competition.

Thinking about a clear mission and purpose might sound like airy words, but they are vital to help you develop your own brand, tell your customers why you exist and what makes you different.

And finally, it really helps keep you on the right path later on down the road.

It gives you and your team your very own North Star to follow.

As I said eariler, internally, it helps align your communications and social media strategy to be on point and not steer away from the mission and purpose. Which is particularly important if you choose to get help with your social media marketing from someone other than you.

So how do you start to plan your own Mission and Vision statements? 

Ask yourself; why do you do what you do? What motivates you?

What value do you bring to others? Why will customers and employees care?

Why should people buy or work for you? Does it inspire others?

And finally, is your mission plausible? There’s no benefit in making it unrealistic.

When brainstorming ideas, you might find it’s more challenging than you initially thought! It’s important to keep it short and concise, you don’t want to be writing an essay!

Think long term and imagine where your business might be? Remember it needs to reflect your long term goals.

Then once you have some ideas, get feedback from employees. It’s important that they are invested in this exercise as much as you are. You need them to be invested in this and push in the same direction as you. So be open to alternative opinions, listen to them and don’t be afraid to change it.

To help you devise your own Mission and Vision, we have a working document you can access and use.