Mission and Vision on Moving Day
What do questions about mission and vision have to do with moving day?
Not much, unless you’re me, moving to a new office and leaving the one Germane Coaching & Consulting has occupied since 2007.
While sorting, pitching, wrapping and packing I came across lots of throw away items. But I also found a few treasures, filed away long ago. They were “keepers” worth referencing again and again, and would have been, had I not forgotten them.
One of these treasures is a two page document that describes the differences between the terms mission and vision, and relationship between them. As I recall the many discussions, debates and arguments about these terms, mission and vision, I wish I’d found it sooner. Perhaps I can make up for that by sharing it here, with you, now.
How are Mission and Vision Different, and Do We Need Both?
Pursuing a Mission is pointless without the vivid specificity of a Vision that describes exactly what will happen when the Mission is achieved.
Mission and Vision are two very different animals. A mission is a broad description of what an organization does, its general purpose. It’s important for people to know they’re working for an organization that’s finding a cure for cancer or one that’s exploring for oil.
The mission describes:
- Why we exist.
- What we do, with and for whom.
- Our distinctive and core competencies.
A vision, on the other hand, describes the world as it will be when we achieve the goals of our mission.
It’s a sensory image that we can see, hear, touch.
To see the vision, we close our eyes and perceive the world we wish to inhabit. We create the future in which we want to live. It qualifies what success is for the organization and the people who work there.
How Do Members of the Organization Develop a Vision?
We begin by envisioning the changes our work will bring to the world around us, as defined in our mission. If, for example, our mission is to provide health care services for the homeless, then the “world around us” includes the homeless people and communities in a defined area. It likely includes neighborhoods that serve the homeless and where they hang out, as well.
A good vision doesn’t evaluate or find fault with the way things are now. It doesn’t compare the desired future to the current state. It doesn’t describe HOW we will achieve that future state. It doesn’t point out the road to get there.
A vision calls us to reach for the stars, to fulfill the dreamer in us.
We know, from the outset, that we will not achieve this vision in the near term, maybe not even in our life time. The vision is not filled with platitudes or vague promises. It is:
- Vividly specific
- Descriptive
- A detailed picture of the world we want to create
The vision is a depiction of what does not exist as if it does exist.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal,
before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon
and returning him safely to the earth.” ~ President John F. Kennedy
Experience tells me that most organizations are more clear about their mission and less visionary about their vision. Examples of good mission statements accompanied by visions that truly reach for the stars are rare. If you have a worthy pair please share them generously.