What is a company’s mission, vision, and values?
A company’s mission, vision, and values are elements that identify it. Values indicate the purposes that define the mission and vision, and these explain why and for what purpose the company exists.
Some Important points
- The mission defines the company’s current reason for being.
- The vision projects the desired future of the company.
- Values guide actions and behaviors.
Mission, Vision, and Values: A Simple Explanation
Defining a clear mission and vision is crucial to achieving the company’s goals. These elements justify the company’s existence and the purpose for which it was created.
Furthermore, these concepts are the basis for developing the strategies necessary for the growth and success of the company.
How we define each element
It is important to differentiate each term, so we are going to define each one.
Definition of a company’s mission
On the one hand, the definition of the mission makes a reference to the motive or reason for the existence of the company, it is related to the present moment in which the organization operates, it indicates what the company does at a given time.
It is also related to the short-term performance of the company, focusing more on the now and the present moment. The mission helps determine what needs to be done to reach a future goal.
That is, it must establish what the company does and what differentiates it from others because it encompasses the fundamental reasons why the company was created.
Characteristics of a good business mission
They are as follows:
- Short and precise: The mission statement should be simple and easy to understand so that everyone understands it.
- Inspiring: It must motivate everyone who is part of the company to seek to achieve the proposed goals.
- It must be original: It must talk about the company, what the company does, and what makes it different.
- Addressing the market: Indicates what the company does in the market and how it adds value to the customer.
Mission Examples
Some examples of mission could be:
- Google: Organizing the world’s information so that it is universally accessible and useful.
- Walmart: Saving you money so you can live better.
Defining a company’s vision
The vision determines where the company should go, so its purpose must be ambitious, but without forgetting to be realistic.
It also establishes the point to which the company wants to reach so that its achievement is achieved in the long term. The vision becomes a source of inspiration for the people who work in the company to commit themselves to wanting to achieve the objective.
Of course, a company’s vision can change, but it must always maintain the original values that inspired the creation of the company.
Characteristics of good vision
They are as follows:
- Project into the future: You must project
in the short, medium, and long term. - Clear and realistic: Everyone must understand it
and it must be achievable. - Inspiring and consistent: Expresses the
dream of how the company wants to be, but maintaining the relationship with the
company’s mission
Example of vision
Some examples are:
- Google: Being the most prestigious and most important search engine in the world.
- Walmart: To make Walmart the largest and best retailer in the world by delivering the best products on time and providing excellent service.
Definition of company values
In addition, values represent the beliefs and principles that govern a company, which help guide the action patterns and conduct of the people who work within the organization. They represent the ethical principles that underpin the company’s actions.
Indeed, they become the inspiration and source of motivation for people, which helps generate a positive image of the company and gives it its own identity.
Characteristics of the values
- Convincing: They must be principles thatrepresent what the company truly believes and with which it expresses its
level of commitment. - Consistent: Being consistent with the
values of the entrepreneurs and the values of the business partners. - Be accepted and fulfilled: It implies that
they must be accepted and respected by all involved.
Examples of values
Some of Google’s values are:
- Integrity.
- Utility.
- Privacy.
- Responsiveness, etc.
Some of Walmart’s values are:
- Customer service.
- Respect for the individual.
- Strive for excellence.
- Act with integrity, etc.
Finally, we can say that the mission, vision, and values of a company constitute the fundamental axis of every company, especially when choosing the action strategies that will be used in the present with the purpose of successfully achieving its proposed objectives. The way in which a company performs at the present time will define how it will project itself into the future; as well as the achievement of its expected degree of growth and success.
