Mission and Vision Statements
Mission: What is a Mission Statement? - A one paragraph description of the organization’s purpose and rationale for being. - Written in present tense. - Deals with specific outcomes and goals. Qualities of an effective statement: When someone outside of your organization looks at your mission statement, they know what you are about. Written to inspire you, not to impress anyone else. Encompasses entire picture of the team. Embraces everyone who is a member. Short enough to recite; 25 words or less. Examples: Starbucks: establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow. (21 words) Southwest Airlines: Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and Company Spirit. (23 words)
Process of writing a mission statement: 1. Select four of the following questions: How do you define success? How do you measure success? Who are you responsible for? Who do you work for? Why do you work? How do you want to be seen by other, as a team? Who are your customers? What are your values? Where do you think you fit within the college? What services should you provide? What do you want to accomplish? 2. Break your team into small groups of 4-5 people and have each group answer the four questions, then share their answers with the entire team. 3. Each small group drafts a mission statement based on answers to these questions & shares with entire team. Underline phrases that you like on each of those statements. The final mission statement must include something from each small group statement. As a team, draft one statement from the underlined phrases that encompasses the important pieces. 4. Once the final draft has been written, ask the entire team: “Does this represent you? Who has an issue with something on this page?” 5. Revise to complete mission statement. Vision Statement: A future-oriented description of what the organization should look like and how it will successfully fulfill its intents. Defines a realistic, credible, and attractive future for the organization.
“a vision allows leaders to inspire, attract, align, and energize their followers – to empower them by encouraging them to become a part of a common enterprise dedicated to achieving the vision” Gil Hickman, “Leading Organizations” How to Create a Vision Statement: Identify what kind or organization you are an what you want to become Determine what you want to create and what would be worth committing to for the next decade. Identify what differentiates you from other similar organizations. Define what the “right” things to do are. Understand who you serve, how you serve them, and when and where you serve them. How to Create a Vision Statement Set up a Vision Steering Committee by identifying key stakeholders in your organization. Review appropriate information such as mission statements, norms, etc. related to the organization of its parent organization. Discuss the purpose of a Vision Statement. Gather information on the organization (e.g. use of “future letter’ and capturing ideas dealing with future state, clients served, services provided, and strategies to deliver services on flipcharts. Examples of Vision Statements Apple Computer “To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.” American Society of Training and Development “We are the world leader in workplace learning and performance. We help set direction for new explorations on the frontiers of learning and development. The workforces of the world perform better because of our leadership.”