The Impact of the Mission and Vision Statements
Published January 24, 2012 | 
Don’t ever be content with waiting and seeing what will happen, but determine the mission and develop the vision to make the right things happen.
Your mission and vision statements not only set the tone for your business plan, but for lean planning purposes, your company as well. They should clearly define the road or path your business follows, and then act as the most important guiding principles by which your company functions.
Any reader should be able to clearly understand after reviewing your mission and vision statements exactly what you and your business are all about. What your company stands for, what its core beliefs are, along with, what it is by your efforts and resources you intend to achieve.
It’s quite easy to understand that “economy of words” is always critical to remember. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they should be short at the expense of maximized effectiveness, but that each carefully chosen word, be both commanding and significantly meaningful. The words should be clear, concise, compelling, and make it quite obvious, precisely what your company is attempting to do.
There are certainly Major Differences between the Mission and Vision statements
Your MISSION defines what you and your business stand for, and it should not be change or ever be achievable. That may sound silly, absurd and unreasonable, but understand the objective is for your mission to always be just a little out of your reach. It’s what you are always striving to reach, but never quite attain. The mission statement should be a clear and succinct representation of your enterprise’s very purpose for existence.
Your VISION on the other hand, is exactly what you intend to become or accomplish. Think of it as your dream with a deadline, it should be challenging, yet achievable. A well-written mission statement should always demonstrate that you truly understand your business, have clearly defined your unique-focus, and therefore can put into words and clearly express your objectives in a concise way to both yourself and others.
Let’s examine some of the “don’ts” that are important to avoid when writing your Mission or Vision Statement.
Don’t restate a description of your business. It’s what the business stands for and why it exists.
Don’t be boring. It should compellingly resonate.
Don’t make it lengthy by getting lost in the sheer volume of words. It’s important to keep it concise, clear, and short and snappy.
Don’t pretend emotion. Allow your passion to be genuine and unrehearsed.
Don’t include it, if you don’t believe it. Remember, your readers aren’t naive and will know if your belief is not present.
Don’t claim to be something you aren’t. You should intend to do exactly what you say you are going to do in your vision statement.
Don’t forget your team. Be sure you get input from everyone that’s part of your team.
The following Mission and Vision Statements of both Microsoft and The Coca-Cola Company are great examples of clear, concise and highly-effective statements.
“At Microsoft, our mission and values are to help people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.”
“Our vision is to create innovative technology that is accessible to everyone and that adapts to each person’s needs. Accessible technology eliminates barriers for people with disabilities and it enables individuals to take full advantage of their capabilities.”
—Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation
Our Mission
“Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is enduring. It declares our purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which we weigh our actions and decisions.
- To refresh the world…
- To inspire moments of optimism and happiness…
- To create value and make a difference.
Our Vision
Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth.”
Understand Your Business Plan’s Mission and Vision
Published April 30, 2010 | When we look at the different components and segments of the Business Plan, we find it curious that there are terms that are seemingly interchangeable, and the terms that are most often used interchangeably are mission and vision, 
but there is a vast difference between a mission and vision, and while the two concepts play-off of one another they work in very different ways.
Mission by itself, is the purpose or reason for the very existence of your business, so think of it as a general heading or direction, and a mission is what you stand for as well, should be timeless and it should rarely, if ever, change and it should always stand the test of time in that there is no end to the mission.
A vision by itself is a specific future destination or a “dream with a deadline,” and having said that you should understand that the vision should change over time, and the vision must say “yes” to some ideas and “no” to others, since it’s about what the future might be, could be, and shouldn’t be, for example, “To put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960’s.”
You must realize that mission is all about preserving the core of which provides continuity and stability to your business, 
like a fixed stake in the ground or the horizon limiting possibilities, and always acting conservatively, while the vision is about stimulating progress, urging continual change, compelling constant movement, expanding possibilities, and revolutionary change.
Now to build your mission always remember, a mission statement should be somewhat timeless and it should apply not only today but possibly even twenty to fifty years from now, and it should put forth a general direction or heading, by stating what it is that you stand for, and in essence, a mission can never really be achieved since it should be on going, and if it can be achieved if completed, then it is a vision not your mission, and you should think of your mission as your true north heading on your compass that will always be there pointing the way. Many times the best mission statements are also the simplest, as Microsoft’s mission is as simple as “Help entrepreneurs realize their full potential”.
To build your vision, you must ask yourself “What big goal do you want to try to achieve in five years from now, what does success look like in five years, and in five years from now, how should your business be different than it is now, and using your own metrics of success what approach should you take to accomplish in five years for you to consider your business successful? Once again, the simplest statement is many times the best, and Microsoft’s vision is as simple as, “a computer in every home running Microsoft software”.
The Power of Purpose Unleashed!
Published August 29, 2009 | 
Vision Statements and Mission Statements are often inspiring words chosen by highly successful Entrepreneurs and business leaders to convey the direction of the business organization in a clear and concise manner, and through carefully crafting a clear mission statement and vision statement, you can powerfully communicate your intentions and motivate yourself and your team to realize a well defined and inspiring common vision of the future.
But what about these two terms often used interchangeably, and although there is a vast difference between a mission and vision, and the two concepts play-off of one another, they work in very different ways.
Mission is the purpose or reason for the existence of your business and it is a general heading or direction. A mission is what you stand for, should be timeless and it should rarely, if ever, change and it should always stand the test of time in that there is no end to the mission.
A vision is a specific future destination or a dream with a deadline, and having said that the vision should change over time. The vision must say “yes” to some ideas and “no” to others, since it’s about what the future might be, could be, and shouldn’t be, example: “To put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960’s.”
Mission is about preserving the core of which provides continuity and stability, like a fixed stake in the ground or the horizon limiting possibilities, and acting conservatively, 
while the vision is about stimulating progress, urging continual change, compelling constant movement, expanding possibilities, and revolutionary change.
To build your mission remember, a mission statement should be somewhat timeless and it should apply not only today but possibly even twenty to fifty years from now, and it should put forth a general direction or heading stating what it is that you stand for. In essence, a mission can never really be achieved as it should be on going, and if it can be achieved if completed, then it is a vision not your mission, and you should think of your mission as your true north heading on your compass. Microsoft’s mission is simple as “Help entrepreneurs realize their full potential”.
To create your mission statement, first identify your business’s “purpose or reason for existence,” and be sure to focus on the idea or approach that make’s your business stand out and apart from its competitors, and is the main reason that customers will choose to do business with you and not your competition.
Next identify the key measures of your success and make sure you choose the most important measures (and not too many of them!), combine your winning idea and success measures into a tangible and measurable goal, then refine the words until you have a concise and precise statement of your mission, which expresses your ideas, measures and desired result.
Once you’ve created your mission statement, move on to create your vision statement and first identify your organization’s mission, then define the human value in that mission, next, identify what you, your customers and stakeholders will value most about how your business will achieve this mission and further define these into the values that your business has or should have. 
Combine your mission and values, and refine the words until you are satisfied you have a vision statement inspiring enough to energize and motivate people inside and outside your business.
Finally, ask yourself what big goal do you want to try to achieve in the next three to five years, what does success really look like in five years, how should your business be different in five years then it is now, and using your own metrics of success and approach to accomplish, for you to consider yourself successful? Microsoft’s vision is as simple as “a computer in every home that’s running Microsoft software”.