You have probably also been told at some point that it is important that you have control over mission, vision and values. Perhaps you even have them on your website and in various presentation materials. But do you use it, or does it just say, "because you have to"?
In this article, we explain the difference between the three concepts and go in depth about why you must work with the company's mission, vision and values.
As you know, it is not possible to reach a goal that you do not know. The same applies in a company. In order for everyone in the company to work in the same direction, it is important that you have a common understanding of what it is you want to achieve and how you want to do it. You can clarify this insight by formulating vision, mission and values.
Internal agreement means that the company moves in the same direction and greater enthusiasm and motivation among your employees, because a clear picture is easier to act on. In addition, a clear goal acts as an action guide for both employees and management.
Once you have formulated your mission, vision and values, it is important that they come into use. Write them down, share them and make them part of your internal and external communications. If you just put it all in a drawer, the work is probably wasted.
There is some confusion about the difference between the three terms. What is the difference between my mission and my vision? What are the values used for?
A mission is created to create a general understanding of why the organization exists and what it wants to achieve. When the framework is defined, everyone knows within which framework the company's tasks must be solved.
The mission also expresses the company's business area or industry and what it can offer customers in this area. The mission is more specific than the vision and focuses on the resources and competencies on which the company will compete.
The mission can be formulated by asking:
Why do we exist? What are we put in the world to solve? What shall we (read: what shall we not?)
The mission can describe the types of tasks that the company solves and the desired effect of this. It can be an advantage to involve the employees in the process, so that they themselves help to define their workplace. The mission should be concise and easy to understand, so it is easy to remember.
Examples:
LEGO: "We stimulate the child in all of us. We will do this by offering creative, developing, fun and entertaining play materials"
Egmont: "We create and convey stories. The story came with the word. The narrative has created the foundation for our civilization. Handing down stories nurtures imagination, challenges curiosity, stimulates ideas and is the basis for learning and development. The story is the essence of everything we do at Egmont. That is our promise to the world. In short: We create and convey stories”.
The vision describes a future image of the company. It is the common direction that the entire company must work to achieve. If the organization does not have a vision, the employees do not know where the management wants the organization to move and which goal must be realized.
The vision is broadly formulated and describes the company's overall goals. It gives a picture of how the company wants to appear and be perceived in the future, and gives business partners an idea of where the company wants to go and in which direction it is working.
You can popularly say that a mission gives us meaning, while the vision gives direction. Together with the mission, the vision also forms an important basis for strategic choices and opt-outs (leadership).
A vision can be assessed on several criteria. Although there are no formal requirements for a vision, there are things that should be taken into account when creating it. The 5 relevant points in that regard are whether it is:
Even if the above criteria are taken into account, it is not necessary to formulate a long and detailed vision. Short and far-reaching visions are often better for indicating the direction you want the organization to take, rather than a more stringent but limiting formulation.
It is advantageous to involve the employees in the process. If necessary, supplement the vision with visual material.
Examples:
LEGO: "We want to become the world's strongest brand among families with children".
Egmont: "We want to be the most attractive media group for employees, business partners and consumers".
The company's values act as a guideline for the organization's employees: How should the behavior be in the company? What do you want the employees' hearts to be driven by if they are to beat with the pulse of the company? Ways, actions and the state to which we aspire lie in the values.
The values will consist of a mixture of preferences and the traditions that are in the company.
Examples:
LEGO: "Everything we do aims to give children the opportunity to throw themselves into play, to encourage creative activities, excitement, togetherness and the exchange of ideas.
Egmont: "Our shared values at Egmont are to be spacious, passionate and ambitious. The values express what we are, what we stand for and the way we do things.”
Values can also be expressed in words, as with Egmont. These words can then be supported by value sentences, as the example here from Egmont shows.
Spacious
Our company can convey all kinds of stories in every imaginable media. This spaciousness also embraces an openness to everything new and room for many different cultures and personalities.
Passionate
We bring our hearts to work. We are passionate about stories. To create and communicate them in the best possible way to as many people as possible. This passion is at the heart of everything we do.
Ambitious
We are a commercial company. We are here to create results. Both on the bottom line and in the media world. We are ambitious in our goals and execution. Our desire to win is greater than our fear of losing.
The value base is closely linked to the organisation's mission. While the mission says what we must, the values say something about the way we fulfill the mission. The value base is also linked to the vision – they must help ensure common footing on the journey towards the vision.
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