See how Quantive can help you achieve more of your strategy.
Try for freeWhat is mission vs. vision?
Without a clear mission or vision, your company will be defined by chance.
On the other hand, simply having a mission and vision statement won’t guarantee business success. The question of “where you’re going” (vision) and “how you’ll get there” (mission) will ensure you’re on the right path with your strategy.
The success of your mission and vision working together depends on how you communicate it, align your organization to it, then inform your goals and objectives with it.
In this article, we’ll explore:
- What mission and vision statements are
- Similarities and differences between mission vs. vision
- The importance of mission and vision to your strategy
- Mission and vision statement examples
Mission and vision statements, defined
Mission statements define the concrete business objectives of an organization and how they will be reached, while a vision statement explains an organization's ultimate future aspirations.
Mission statement
Your mission statement is your purpose, declared, defining exactly what your company is doing now. It’s an embodiment of what you stand for, who you’re doing it for, and how you’re accomplishing it.
Mission statements shouldn’t exist in some arbitrary Word document or company webpage nobody will ever see. Your mission statement is the wheel of your ship, and without it, you’re floating aimlessly in the ocean of your business.
Vision statement
If a mission statement is about where you’re presently going, your company's vision statement is like looking into a fortune teller’s crystal ball. A vision statement focuses on describing your company's desired future state, even more bold and high-reaching than the mission statement, highlighting the grand value or change you hope to drive in the world.
A well-crafted vision statement is something your teams can rally around — it invokes the passion, curiosity, and innovation all great companies are known for. It should also encompass your company's core values.
Mission vs. vision
When trying to differentiate between vision and mission statements, use this simple breakdown.
A mission statement:
- Keeps the present in mind, defines what you’re doing
- Directly motivates objectives and goals
- Inspires your company culture and describes your company's mission
A vision statement:
- Keeps the future in mind, defines where you’re going
- Directly motivates your company’s direction and purpose
- Inspires your company growth
While the concepts of mission and vision are different, it’s common for companies to combine them into one overarching company statement. Take this statement from Mercedes-Benz:
Bold: mission. Italics: vision.
“At Mercedes-Benz, we are driven by a passion for creating the world’s most compelling luxury vehicles. We do this by following our core values of innovation, quality and efficiency. We also adhere to our guiding principle: ‘the best or nothing’.”
Now that we’ve explored the similarities and differences between mission and vision, let’s see their practical applications to your strategy.
The importance of mission vs. vision in strategic planning
Your mission and vision serve as the direction for goals, objectives, and day-to-day tasks. Without this foundation, your operations will exist in silos without a sense of direction.
Mission and vision help with the strategic planning process on three fronts:
- Alignment
- Engagement
- Focus
Alignment
Think of vision as the top of your business pyramid. It is the north star for everything your organization does, bringing clarity to where you’re trying to go. From it flows the mission, which defines how your organization will get there.
Below the mission comes organizational goals and objectives. Since the mission and vision inform corporate strategy, these goals and objectives direct your business and function-level strategies.
Alignment is a challenge because some organizations begin with goals first, then connect those to higher-level strategy, rather than using strategy (mission/vision) to inform goals.
Thanks to the vision and mission, the tactical to-dos and daily operations have structure to align to, making your organization more productive.
Engagement
Your teams are more than the sum of their roles and responsibilities — they’re humans who want to be inspired through purpose. Your business’s mission and vision can provide this purpose.
In parallel with alignment, mission and vision are the anchoring points to the greater ideas of the company.
When your teams have a clear sense of how their contributions align with the company vision, mission, and each other, engaging them with the process becomes easier.
Focus
In a business environment obsessed (or cursed) with the idea of “more,” the importance of focus in a Modern Operating Model is evident.
With a clearly communicated vision and mission, there’s no more guesswork on what needs to be accomplished in your organization. Your team’s objectives and technical tasks now have a springboard for driving true impact.
In the OKR framework, for example, high-level objectives connect directly to your mission, creating immense clarity on desired outcomes. From there, key results quantitatively inform how those objectives (tied to your mission) are achieved. Then, daily tasks and KPIs drive progress up the funnel to key results, objectives, and ultimately, your mission and vision.
Paired with the right goal-setting methodology, mission and vision are more than statements to make your business sound good for investors and customers — they’re your hack to organizational focus.
Company mission and vision statement examples
Check out three strong examples of mission and vision in action.
- Bold: Mission statement
- Italics: Vision statement
Company: Nike
To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world (*if you have a body, you are an athlete). We see a world where everybody is an athlete — united in the joy of movement.
Why it works: Nike is a global powerhouse in a sports apparel and branding — their worldly-focused vision statement (everybody is an athlete) is backed by a mission statement that’s both aspirational (inspiration and innovation) and approachable (by labeling everyone an athlete).
Company: Starbucks
To inspire and nurture the human spirit — one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time, by establishing Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow.
Why it works: Starbucks is another industry leader, built on the brand of empowering people. Their mission statement is rooted in this motivational empowerment (nurture the human spirit), while the vision connects to their (uncompromisable) footprint on the world.
Company: Adobe
To change the world through digital experiences — we connect content and data and introduce new technologies that democratize creativity, shape the next generation of storytelling, and inspire entirely new categories of business.
Why it works: Adobe’s vast product offerings and services could complicate its greater focus. But its simple, yet powerful mission statement serves as a tactical lens (change the world) for a vision statement demonstrating the company’s diversity (content, data, creative democracy, storytelling, etc.).
Putting your mission and vision statements into action
Well-crafted mission and vision statements are as actionable as they are inspiring.
If you're curious about connecting your mission and vision to your company's goals and objectives, OKRs might be the right fit to accomplish that. OKRs takes the goals that your mission statement outlines and turns them into measurable and achievable objectives.
See how OKRs could benefit your business
Quantive empowers modern organizations to turn their ambitions into reality through strategic agility. It's where strategy, teams, and data come together to drive effective decision-making, streamline execution, and maximize performance.
As your company navigates today’s competitive landscape, you need an Always-On Strategy to continuously bridge the gap between current and desired business outcomes. Quantive brings together the technology, expertise, and passion to transform your strategy and playbooks from a static formulation to a feedback-driven engine for growth.
Whether you’re a fast-growing scale-up, a mid-market business looking to conquer, or a large enterprise looking for innovation, Quantive keeps you ahead – every step of the way. For more information, visit www.quantive.com.
