Vision Statements and Mission Statements are the motivating words or lexis chosen by victorious leaders to evidently and concisely transmit the path of the organization. By crafting a graspable mission statement and vision statement, one can vigorously converse objectives and motivate the team or organization to accomplish common hallucination of the future. "Mission Statements" and "Vision Statements" do two distinctly different jobs. There are divergent difference between a mission statement and a vision statement, although sometimes it can be difficult to tell the difference. Organizations summarize their goals in Mission and Vision statements. Both statements are ticket to success. The nonexistence of, or inadequately written Vision and Mission statements, are vanished opportunities for attracting/engaging/retaining talent, building organizational culture and increasing productivity while leveraging all resources to successfully implement a strategic plan. A mission and vision are standard and critical elements of a company's organizational strategy. Most established companies develop organizational mission statements and vision statements, which serve as foundational guides in the establishment of company objectives. The company then develops strategic and tactical plans for objectives. Without mission and vision, businesses are boring.
A Vision statement outlines what a company wants to be. It focuses on the future. It is a source of stimulus. It offers clear decision-making criteria. It lists where the company sees itself some years from now. The vision statement communicates both the purpose and values of the organization. It operates as the "north star" - it is what all employees understand their work every day ultimately contributes towards accomplishing over the long term. Leaders may change, but a visibly established Vision promotes people to concentrate on what's important and better understand organization-wide change and configuration of resources. Defining an organization's Vision is not always easy for senior leadership to do. Vision statements are sometimes confused or used synonymously with mission statements. However, vision statements should offer more of a direction and include a perspective of corporate values. A vision might provide a direction for the company for the next five to ten years, while also noting a commitment to integrity, transparency, openness and other such values.
How to concoct Vision Statement?
· First pinpoint your organization's mission. Then unearth the genuine, human merit in that mission.
· Next, identify what you, your customers and other stakeholders will value most about how your organization will achieve this mission. Purify these into the values that your organization has or should have.
· Merge your mission and values, and refine the words until you have a vision statement stimulating enough to invigorate and motivate people inside and outside your organization.
·Visions are often value-laden statements. Values should be expansive and comprehensive to integrate as many people and standpoints as possible.
· Visions should be optimistic and inspiring: to you, organization staff, and the community you serve. “We believe in the equality of all people, regardless of race, class, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation.”
What is a Mission Statement?
A Mission Statement depicts the organization's aspiration and primary objectives. It acts as an escort for all of the company's decision-making. Shareholders, leaders and employees are generally the aim of the mission. It should assist workers within the organization know what decisions and tasks best align with the mission of the company. A mission statement offers insight into what company leaders view as the primary purpose for being in business. Some companies have profit-motivated missions, while others make customers a focal point. Other firms use a mission to point out more unselfish intentions that ultimately lead to profits. Having a clearly defined Mission statement helps employees better understand things like company-wide decisions, organizational changes, and resource allocation, thereby lessening confrontation and workplace conflicts. In this way, the mission statement also sets parameters for what the organization, through omission, does not do.
How to concoct Mission Statement?
· To create your mission statement, first identify your organization's "winning idea".
· This is the approach that will make your organization stand out from its competitors, and is the reason that customers will come to you and not your competitors.
· Next identify the key measures of your success. Make sure you choose the most important measures (and not too many of them!)
· Combine your winning idea and success measures into a concrete and reckonable ambition.
· Refine the words until you have a laconic and explicit statement of your mission, which expresses your ideas, measures and most wanted result.
Trumpet the voices of Mission and Vision
Vision Statements and Mission Statements can be power-packed drivers in a company culture when they are done right, and when they are used to release the potent energy within the people who make up that company. In addition, a clear Vision and Mission statement can reinforce culture through an amalgamated sense of purpose, improve decision-making with clarity and boost cross-functional relationships through a shared understanding of predilections. It is never too late for an organization to define its Vision and Mission. Some even reinvent themselves through the strategic planning route, beginning with these two core building blocks. Different approaches for developing a Vision and Mission range from online tools for self-directed work groups, to engaging a professional strategic planner to facilitate the group discussions and manage the development process over a period of several months. Regardless of how an organization creates an effective Vision and Mission statement, it is important that they be implanted into the culture through clear and coherent communications from the highest levels of an organization. The best missions and visions become mantras for action. It only matters if you use them. Turn them both into mantras that people actually say, beaming with pride as they say them. “This is my company, and I’m glad it is” is the emotion they evoke, shining in everyone’s eyes. Both mission and vision are alive; both evolve, both grow as you grow.
SHIVANAND PANDIT, SENIOR FINANCE MANAGER,
MARPOL PRIVATE LIMITED, MARGAO-GOA-INDIA.
EMAIL: pandit_shivanand@rediffmail.com
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