The world is constantly changing and businesses need to flow with it. They need to look ahead and continue to thrive over the next decade or so and beyond. A well-crafted vision statement will anchor any organization as they go about this process.

What Makes an Effective Vision Statement?

A vision statement answers a few future-oriented questions:

An effective vision statement creates a vivid image for your employees. This keeps your people enthusiastic, engaged, and driven to rise above daily challenges. Each individual focuses on the bigger picture and how they can contribute to it.

It sets a clear map of activities that the organization will and will not pursue. It will determine the capabilities to develop and the position it will occupy in the market.

What is the Difference Between a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement?

The main difference between a vision statement and mission statement is the aspect of time. A mission statement describes where the organization is presently and describes why they do it. It is an everyday extension of your vision. It details what you can do, will do and have to do daily to make the organization’s vision a reality.

A vision statement, on the other hand, focuses on where you’re going and how you plan to get there. It is a future-focused. It is intended to inspire and provide direction to employees. A good vision statement answers the question: “What will this organization look like in 5 or 10 years?”

A mission statement answers the following questions:

A powerful mission statement details how an organization plans to achieve its objectives. It is an actionable statement for its customers, employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders. These are all instrumental stakeholders that play a role in the success of the organization.

What Makes an Effective Mission Statement?

Who Should a Mission Statement Target?

There are four primary stakeholders that your mission statement should target:

Who Shapes Your Vision and Mission Statements?

Crafting your vision and mission statements require time, thought and careful planning. Here are the steps you can take to make one:

The first step is to determine who will play a role in crafting it.

You need to create a mission-writing group. Members should represent different parts of the organization. They should know the company’s reason for existing and its target customers. They should have an idea of what their expected goals are.

Utilize idea-generating techniques.

You can choose any of the following techniques to come up with the details of the mission statement:

Have an open group brainstorming session where any idea is welcomed. List questions to be answered to delimit suggestions within the scope of the objective.

Divide the group into smaller working groups. Each group will create their own mission statements and later present to the entire group. Feedback is encouraged at this point.

Once they’re complete, you have to make sure to spread the word! Everyone in your organization should know where you are going as a group and why. They should be clear on what role they play to help achieve these goals.

People outside the business should see what your company is and be clear on what you deliver. A thorough communication plan is needed to make this happen.