Missions, Visions, Values, and Stuff

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Permalink Reply by Doug Theis on March 14, 2008 at 12:33pm

Stolen from lifehack.org:

Your mission is what you do best every day, and your vision is what the future looks like because you do that mission so exceedingly well.

MISSION will feed into the confidence of your organization by feeding this ever-present self-talk: “We can do this, and we are the ones ordained to do this, for we are the best at it.” Mission will churn out revolutionary ideas about the mundane, banishing mediocrity.

VISION creates that momentum of growing anticipation about the future, where change is embraced as a step closer to that very compelling picture of what’s coming next. The excitement about the future trumps any apprehension about the uncertain — change is recognized as the catalytic converter it is.

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Permalink Reply by David Gorsage on March 14, 2008 at 1:11pm

Hi Michelle -
First, congratulations on taking the serious steps in in your business. I am sure that many SI members will provide their perspective to your questions. So, I guess here is mine: Mission - should expliain WHY your business exists and WHAT is its purpose. A few other tips on Mission ... * the most important attribute of purpose is "authenticity" -purpose comes from within ... also ask yourself 'will this purpose be valid 20-30 years from now' ... *simpler the better ...* don't worry about the perfect words; just be able to communicate it and LIVE it. Vision - as Collins would define it .. "the house on the hill" ... I tend to use Vision to help develop a more concrete picture of what the company will look like in ten years, in pursuit of the mission and "strategic position". Vision is about answering three questions; What do you want to BE in 10 yrs... what do you want to HAVE in 10 years; What do you want the organization to DO in 10 yrs. VALUES: I counsel my clients to use the values to speak to the character/personality of the organization. Values are built on passion and conviction.. I have seen them published and not published. I would strongly suggest that you have a well thought through "strategic position". Answer the questions.. what business are you in and WHAT makes you different.... ie FED Ex .... Over night shipping; Guaranteed next day . From my experience, Strategic Position drives all your decisions ... where to invest your $ in your business, what customers to serve... SP is to create alignment in all areas of your business ... even what NOT to do ... SP is your FOCUS. I hope this doesn't overwhelm and I hope it has helped in some small way. Feel free to ask any follow up. +peace

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Permalink Reply by Lorraine Ball on March 15, 2008 at 8:52am

You have asked two very separate questions -
1) What is mession, vision, values

My peeres have done a good job of defining the differences, in short i would had
Mission - What you want to do, vision - if you do it well, where will you end up, values - how you will live your life or run your company to accomplish what you set out to do.

What pose should you use in your personal brochure.

The trend is toward more relaxed, more natural poses and not every photographer can do this, so it often looks cheesey. Go for something more natural, maybe standing, leaning on a for sale sign, sitting on a stool not a chair,

One suggestion: Look at photographers who specialize in high school portraits, and find one who really does a good job capturing the attitude of the student. Good advice i should follow... my current professional pose is too staged, and i actually prefer some of the screen grabs of me in motion...

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Permalink Reply by Dennis Mann on March 15, 2008 at 2:14pm

To clarify these questions for myself in the past I was able to bring it down to two basic statements:

Mission:Why am I (we) doing this (purpose)
Vision: What it will look like when it's done (successfully implemented, what will be the desired outcome)

P.S. These are evolutionary statements, with evolutionary answers, you will need to continue to revisit them, and watch how your answers grow...

In the mission statement you listed above, where is the "why"? That is where the energy comes from, why do you want "To earn my clients' loyalty..." If the mission statement is for the client's benefit, I would clarify that for them, so your mission statement speaks to them, not at them...so that they feel you are truly working as their advocate.

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Permalink Reply by Michelle Morris on March 16, 2008 at 8:01pm

OK, Dennis, I see what you are saying, but I'm not getting the How of it. I don't understand how to word it, I guess. I'll continue to check for good mission statements out there and see if I can figure it out, but you're welcome to provide suggestions.... now that I re-read it, I thought I was "providing service..." in order to earn their loyalty and referrals.

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