Mission, Vision, and Strategy - What’s the Difference?

Mission, Vision, Strategy - you’ll find mention of those in most management books, and yet the difference between the three concepts often remains a blur. Let’s try to clear up the confusion!

Understanding the nuances between mission, vision, and strategy is key to creating a successful plan for your business. These three pillars form the backbone of your organizational journey, each playing a distinct role in steering your business toward success. Think about them as communication tools that help you to explain what your company is all about to your customers, your team, your investors, or anyone else who needs to know.

Mission

Your mission describes the impact you want your business to have on the world. It is where your journey begins, and provides you with a compass on your roadmap to success that guides every action you take. 

A mission statement is a concise, clear, and focused outline of the purpose and primary objectives of your company. It answers questions such as “what are we trying to achieve?”, “what is our purpose?” or “why do we exist?”.  For example, TED’s mission statement is “spread ideas”. Clear and concise. Another example of a company’s mission statement is Tesla; “accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy”. This shines light on Tesla’s purpose and objective.

Your mission statement will also help you to focus your organization as it grows. Use it to validate new opportunities or ideas to see if they actually drive towards your mission. 

Vision

Once your mission sets the direction, your vision paints the destination on your success roadmap. It describes the state of a future world once you have achieved your mission. 

A vision is an aspirational view of the positive impact your company wants to have on making the world a better place in some shape or form.

If you are unsure what your vision is, ask questions like “how will the world change when we are successful delivering on our mission?” or “what is the kind of world we want to work towards?” 

To make this more tangible, Microsoft’s vision once was  “a computer on every desk and in every home”, which neatly describes the impact Microsoft was looking to have on the world. Microsoft’s success has outgrown their initial vision over time, so they broadened the vision statement to “empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more”. 

Strategy 

Now comes the actionable game plan – your strategy. This is the bridge that connects your mission and vision. Your strategy outlines 'how' you will turn aspirations into reality. It is the map that answers the questions, "what's our plan to win?", or “what are the actions we need to take to get to our goal?” Your strategy is the dynamic playbook that adapts, evolves, and guides you toward your vision, even as the landscape changes. Think of strategy as your plan to achieve your vision and how you’re going to get from the mission to the vision you’ve created. 

Navigating mission, vision, and strategy is about aligning intention with action. It's about transforming purpose into progress. So, the next time you find these terms dancing in the corporate lingo, remember that they're not just words; they're the compass, the destination, and the map to your success.

Mission, vision, and strategy matter in a company because they are important communication tools that help your team to understand what they are all supposed to do together. In our recent blog post “Building a Positive Workplace Culture: A Recipe for Success”, we touched on how communication is key to helping your team understand the roadmap to success, and mission, vision, and strategy are effective ways of aligning your team along shared goals. 

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