Mission, Vision and Goals
Transcript from Season 1, Episode 3 of the Hardly Working Podcast
Nishanth:
When people think about mission statements, or company visions, or even values, they conjure up this image of a big brass plaque filled with buzzwords that’s installed in the corporate office.
Its estimated that only about 10 percent of mission statements actually provide something meaningful to the company. If they’re so ineffective, then why do most companies still use them? And how can you create a mission statement that people actually remember and remember to use.
Welcome to Hardly Working, our podcast on work, culture, business and strategy.
On our first season of hardly working, we’re taking a look at company culture, and today we’re diving into the world of mission and vision statements.
So, let’s start by discussing mission statements. How would you define it?
Maulik:
Well, in simple terms, I would say a mission statement just says what a company does, why it does it, and who it does it for. That’s it. It’s actually a very simple definition for such a widely used tool.
Nishanth:
So, this sounds a bit like the purpose of a company. The purpose of course being the “Why” part of the equation. Why the company exists. But it guess it goes a step further and includes things like the target audience and the actual product or service.
Maulik:
Yeah, and a mission statement may build on it by adding other elements, such as the reach or the geographic location within which the company operates; discriminators or distinctive factors, basically what sets the product apart from the competition. Or maybe even what sets the company as a whole apart from the competition.
Nishanth
So then what is the vision statement?
Maulik:
Well, if the mission statement is the ambition of the company, then the vision becomes the goal of the company. What the company wants to accomplish in the long term, and what the company is trying to work towards.
Nishanth:
I guess that kind of fits in with what we spoke about last time, as to how leaders need to be looking at a long term goals of the company, to allow the teams to focus on short targets, and day to day output. But we’ve also spoken about how transparency is important to culture. It seems like most of the mission statements are filled with big buzzwords, which few people can understand. Scott Adams made fun of it on the Dilbert website, where he had a Mission Statement Generator. Here’s one I created from there: Our mission is to assertively customize ethical leadership skills to meet our customer’s needs. That honestly sounds quite similar to some mission statements I’ve heard before.
Maulik:
That’s because of the way mission statements are being treated, and more importantly being created. It seems like many companies treat the mission statement as a checkbox on a list of things a business plan needs to have. Or a small company might see it as a step they need to take to be seen as a large company.
The other issue is mission statements have to be fairly concise, but at the same showcase a lofty ambition. Leaders and investors tend to like mission statements that have a sense of gravitas, so that it can drive action.
Nishanth:
So this is where I see a kind of trend of companies hiring an external consultant or agency to help them with choosing the right words, or craft that perfect mission statement.
Maulik:
The word you’ve chosen there is extremely important. Craft. An external agency can help with the articulation, or the crafting of a mission statement, but the thoughts and ideas need to come from within the agency. It could be the founder’s views for a new company, or it could be the views of employees from different levels and departments. Either way, and external consultant can only help with the crafting, but the intent has to , has to come from within.
Nishanth:
Yeah, and it seems like employees will always have their own views on what the company should be doing, but aren’t given that opportunity to help articulate it. It also seems like employees in general will be more accepting of something that they helped create, or had a part in creating, rather than something that they feel is imposed on them
Maulik:
Yeah, and that’s something that leadership always needs to understand.
The other issue is how the external agency, or leadership is judging or analysing their mission statement. When there are multiple options selection criteria comes in to play. But in a lot of cases, the mission statement doesn’t have to be quantifiably “better”. It could just reflect the views of the founders, or the employees.
At the end of the say, the consultant will move on to the next project, but the employees within the organization need to bring that mission statement to life, and work towards achieving that vision.
Nishanth:
Exactly, which where I feel that these intricately crafted mission statements are sometimes useless. They keep the investors happy, but I don’t see employees being able to understand or action these mission statements.
In some companies, I’ve seen them bring in something called a Credo. It kind of distils down the essence of the mission into a phrase or statement that every employee can understand. And this seems to be more effective, at least from an employee point of view.
Maulik:
So there’s no law or rule that states that a mission statement HAS to be elaborate, or confusing. Some companies choose to adopt simple mission statements, as they find it more in line with the culture they’re trying to create.
The only criteria for a good mission or a good vision is to provide clarity, direction and goals.
Nishanth:
The other question I hear “But the vision is too lofty, and can’t be achieved anyway”
Maulik:
That’s a trap we see a lot of leaders fall in to. It could be the fault of the vision, or it could be the fault of the style of leadership. But they’re not able to effectively break down the vision into smaller goals. And as we discussed last time, it is much easier to focus on shorter term goals and just making money, instead of focusing on the long term vision.
Nishanth:
And that seems like quicksand, because in chasing financial targets, you’ll keep shifting further and further away from the mission. Money can be made in variety of ways, or with a variety of products, or even by catering to a variety of TG’s. And pretty quickly you’ve lost sight of the purpose. And then the vision will seem even further away, and even harder to achieve. Your TG will no longer be as loyal to the brand, and your audience is fragmented. And then meeting financial targets also becomes harder.
Maulik:
Exactly. That is why decisions need to be taken with that vision in mind. And there are so many decision, both big and small that a company needs to make. How long to support the product? How much to spend on R&D vs Marketing? Even things like choosing vendors or distributors or franchisees.
All of these, from the smallest to the biggest are contributing to that vision. Either positively or negatively. If the vision is clear, and decisions are taken with that view in mind, it is far easier to achieve.
Nishanth:
I guess in a way, you could say the vision is basically defining what success means for the company. And every company is chasing something different. It can be so easy to look at another company and judge their success in a certain criteria, and then try to change tactics to beat them in that area.
Maulik:
Which is where the brass plaques came from. They were intended to keep the vision top-of-mind of leaders when making decisions. So they’re not as bad as they’re made out to be.
Nishanth:
All of it also starts to fit in with the idea that strategic planning is far more effective than just financial planning. And the clearer the mission and vision are, the easier it is to get in to that mindset of strategic planning.
But there’s still the issue of how to effectively distil the vision in to specific goals.
Maulik:
There’s a simple tool here called SMART goal setting. It just refers to the fact that any good goal should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.
The relevant aspect is obviously important, the goal being set must help in contributing to that vision.
But the other points are just as important in effectively setting goals to ensure that the process is a positive one.
Maulik:
For smaller companies that have started in an ad-hoc manner, and grown organically setting up a strong mission and vision are signs that the company is maturing. Moving from ad-hoc decision making and processes is always better for a company in the long term, just as strategic planning is better than financial planning.
All of these are valuable tools, but over time have just become checkpoints on a business plan list. But that is because they’re poorly used. The tools themselves have become much maligned as a result.
Done well, a good mission and vision statement can build a strong culture, not just for the present, but for the future as well. Done poorly, and they mission statement isn’t worth the paper it is written on.
We’re going to be putting out a new episode very week, so get subscribed. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
That’s it from us, and I think it’s time to get back to work.
Further Reading:
