Why have clarity on your core Purpose Mission Vision Values?

If you know what your business is meant to do, you stand a significant greater chance of achieving it.   Ambiguous or woolly directions leave things open to interpretation and you will get variations and conflict.  By being clear and precise about what you want to do, become and achieve, you can communicate this message to your entire organisation and align all the elements, to work towards your goals.

With the whole of your company aligned on what the direction is, people can focus their actions, choices and behaviours to get you there.

Purpose

A Purpose Statement explains WHY an your business or organisation exists and what it stands for. It is a clear explanation of what the company wants to achieve, its motivations and reasons behind them. It tells us why it operates in the way it does. A strong and clear purpose statement, provides a solid foundation for the value proposition and enables an aligned brand strategy. It also helps shape company culture, staff behaviour and the businesses core values. Having a Purpose statement sets out the map for future decision-making that is understood across the business. It needs to be understood by all employees and key stakeholders. Consider your businesses organization’s impact on the lives of employees, customers, suppliers and partners, anyone that you serve. Make them feel and connect to it.

Mission

So, what should your mission statement cover? It will describe why you do what you do, what you do, who you serve, what impact you want to have, and how go about attaining your objectives. Your mission statement should be a guide you use to reach your decisions, actions, and communications. It should also reflect your passion, expertise, and personality. It should explain a brand’s purpose for being, simply and clearly. It is also nice if it is catchy too. It should be described in a non-technical way, so that anyone can understand it.

Vision

A vision statement paints a picture of a future state of your business.  It should inspire your team, be to the point and aspirational for all stakeholders, including employees, customers, partners, and communities.  It needs to capture what the organisation wants to achieve.

It needs to convey optimism and ambition.  Be succinct and easy to understand and communicate.  Be a future state describing business goals and aspirations and align the business Purpose, being specific but allow for flexibility as markets change and the organisation develops.  How does the organisation differ from others in the industry.  A good vision statement will reflect the unique value proposition of the organisation.   It needs to be measurable to track your progress towards your goals and objectives.  It needs to be grounded in reality, as you want to achieve it.

It is important to have a management process to evaluate and check on an ongoing basis that you are moving towards the vision.  It also needs a process of review to ensure it remains fit for purpose, and if necessary, you tweak it over time.

Crafting the right vision statement can be compelling and motivating for all your stakeholders.  It keeps people focussed on the same end point.

Values

A statement of Values describes the culture that an organisation wants.  For them to mean anything, these need to be reflected and the decisions, actions, and behaviours of those within the organisation.

They can create “red lines”, not to be crossed and constrain behaviour which may or may not be a good thing.     However, if the values are chosen well, your business or organisation will be focussed on the desired behaviour, which shapes the organisation culture and hopefully allow those within it, to flourish.  This will be good for your business or organisation.

The guiding principles for behaviour in your business are shaped by core values.  These affect how it feel to work there, shape the way in which actions are done.

Aspirational values are what you want your business to have to succeed but does have now.   As your business develops, you may need to revisit the values you have chosen, so they still make sense for what your business wants to achieve.

Please review this list of potential values for you to consider for your business:

Accountability
Adaptability
Authenticity
Collaboration
Compassion
Consistency
Continuous improvement
Continuous improvement
Creativity
Curiosity
Customer focus
Diversity
Efficiency
Empathy
Empowerment
Ethical behavior
Excellence
Fairness
Flexibility
Generosity
Global mindset
Harmony
Honesty
Humility
Inclusivity
Independence
Initiative
Innovation
Integrity
Learning and development
Open communication
Open-mindedness
Ownership
Patience
Positivity
Professionalism
Quality
Resilience
Resourcefulness
Respect
Responsibility
Safety
Sustainability
Teamwork
Transparency
Trustworthiness
Work-life balance