The Importance of Defining Mission, Vision and Values
The importance of defining mission, vision and values for a company goes deep beyond the words and results in commitment. It’s easy to post words that sound good on the mission page of a website or on a sign in the office hallway. The key is to define how the mission, values and vision will guide management and team members to achieve these company principles.
The Mission and The Mission Statement
Let’s look to the English dictionary Oxford Languages provided to Google for the sterile definition of Mission Statement. There it is defined as, “a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual example is "a mission statement to which all employees can subscribe".
That is a neat compact succinct statement. It’s really just like the one on websites and hanging beyond the entrance way of company logos. It is in its true sense defining a Mission Statement however, the Company Mission Statement should not be just a “summary”, it should and needs to be actionable.
Merely summarizing the “aims and values” of the company leaves a hole that needs to be filled by the deeper Vision and Values that all Company team members should be striving to achieve.
Vision and Values
The Mission Statement, Visions and Values of a company or organization are the triplets that define the culture, commitment, and goals of the company. At Stillwell+Co the Mission Statement, Visions and Values were clearly decided at its founding.
The Founders, Owners, Management and Team Members of every company need to understand the guiding principles and reflect them when representing the Company. Handbooks, seminars, webinars, and onboarding times should go beyond a tidy summary of the Mission Statement and dive into a precise defining of the company culture. It should detail what is expected of all team members and detail how it is to be delivered.
The Company Culture Defined
For a clear example of a defined company culture guided by the triplets of Mission, Visions, and Values, let’s look to the Stillwell+Co company culture guide. It begins with acceptable Logo and Mark, colors, and typography to be used in print, online and in any Brand displays.
In this company handbook which fully designs the mission of the culture of Stillwell+Co it defines how the Team Members are to stand for the Tone and Personality of the Brand. The seven-point Brand Personality list which guides the team includes:
Genuine & Friendly
Bold & Relevant
Practical
Vision-Centered
The expected presentation of the Stillwell+Co Brand tone includes the do’s and don’ts of expressing the culture in the written word. These are all deeper dives into how to succinctly define the Mission Statement and Vision while turning them into livable actionable words.
Included in defining the Mission Statement, Vision and Values are a list of Non-Negotiables and Guiding Principles that define the working relationship with the clients and customers within the boundaries of succeeding by honesty, hard work, realistic expectations and integrity.
Revisit and Renew
It is important to periodically revisit these company tenets to keep them fresh, alive and relevant. Times change, goals change and sometimes missions, visions, and values MUST change. The goal is to look beyond the words and be sure that the deeper meaning of the Mission, Vision, Values and Principals are reflected in the company culture and interactions with clients.
Stillwell+Co provides consultations to develop a strategic plan of presenting a Brand with purposeful, reinforcing foundations. This includes, revisiting, defining, and aligning the mission and vision statements with the value and Brand identity.
