Transcription
Do you know the difference between vision and mission statements? Most people get this confused. In this video, I'm going to share with you exactly what those differences are, and give you some great examples. Stay tuned to the end of this video because I have something really cool that's also going to be impressing the people that you report to, some cool wow tips.
Hi, if you're new here, welcome. My name is Adriana Girdler, and I'm a Productivity specialist. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel, and I'll be bringing you a new video every Wednesday.
I do tons of workshops with my clients regarding vision statement and mission statements, and one of the biggest things I get is, "Adriana, what the heck is the difference between a vision and mission statement?" Well, I'm gonna share with you exactly what that is, and give you some examples. Let's get to it.
What is a vision statement? Well, it is an inspiring description of exactly where it is that you want to go in the long-term future. So, we're talking about the where. 10 to 15 years is usually the guideline of how you see it. It is something that you should be using in order to make strategic decisions, and it should inspire your people. It should be a rallying cry as to why we do, what we do. And even more importantly, something that I really like to stress with people about vision statements, it should be the first thing you do. Where do you want to go? And how do you see your organization? Make sure that the bar is high.
And as an example of this, so that people can relate, is think of JFK and landing a man on the moon. He had a vision, and the vision was to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade and return him safely home. Wow, what a vision that is. What vision statements are all about: inspiring so that people can understand what they are trying to achieve.
What is a mission statement? Well, it describes the business objectives, the direction, the goals, the strategy, all in order to achieve the vision. Missions can be more short-term. In fact, a lot of times mission statements will change as you get closer to your vision, and it really is supposed to be a tool linked to your strategic planning.
So, to continue on with the JFK example that I was giving you, he had the vision to land a man on the moon, return him safely back. And the mission statement, or actually his mission, so they had multiple missions in order to get to the vision. And with every mission that they had, or aka mission statement, and they achieved it, they were able to redo that mission in a better way to get them closer and closer. So, mission statements are excellent. Do the vision first, mission comes second, which is going to really support the objectives and the business as is from present day, to where you want to go in the future.
Vision and mission statement examples. So here are some good vision and mission statement examples that I want to share with you. First and foremost, Amazon. Amazon's vision: to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Now, here's their mission statement: we strive to offer customers the lowest possible price, and the best available selection, and the utmost convenience.
So, here's a really good example of how the vision is aspirational, where do you want to go? And guess what? They're kind of close to it already. It's quite amazing how they truly live and breathe their vision. And their mission statement is really more on that whole strategy and goals, and objectives. They're very clear with how they're going to go about doing it. So, remember, it's the where and the how. And really good example of how they use both.
And here's another vision mission statement example: Patagonia. Patagonia, if you don't know who they are, they're an outdoor apparel company. Now, here is their vision statement: a love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them, and to help reverse a steep decline in the overall environmental health of our planet. And now, here's the example of Patagonia mission statement: build the best products, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
So, here's what's really nice about this one, is that it is very specific to the inspirational part, why we do what we do, and where we want to go with it. Again, slightly different from the Amazon one, but still impactful.
Now that you know the difference between vision and mission statements, it is now time to wow the people you report to. And I have this amazing checklist that's going to give you top 10 tips on how to do just that. If you like this video, please give it a thumbs up, subscribe to my channel, and if you can, share this with the people you know, because how cool is it to actually get everyone on the same page with vision and mission statements.
That all being said, until the next video, you have a fantastic day. And I would love to hear from you if you have any examples that you want to share with me in regards to vision and mission statements. Bye.