For leaders of any organization or initiative, crafting Mission, Vision, and Values statements is crucial for defining your business’s identity and guiding its direction. At BizComm Ally, we work with both small and large businesses to build or refine these foundational MVV statements, ensuring they resonate with your goals and community.
The MVV statement is the most fundamental blueprint your organization can have. Here’s an overview of what they are and why they matter:
Mission Statement:
A mission statement outlines your business’s purpose and primary objectives. It answers the question, “Why does your business exist?” and focuses on the present state. For example, a coffee shop might state: “To provide a community space with the finest ethically sourced coffee.”
Here’s a real-world example: Microsoft’s mission is “To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.” Their suite of productivity tools follows that mission.
Vision Statement:
A vision statement looks to the future, describing what your business aspires to become. It provides inspiration and sets a long-term direction. For example, the coffee shop’s vision might be: “To be the leading community hub promoting sustainable living and artisanal coffee experiences.”
The mission statement typically identifies the product/service you want to provide, while the vision statement typically identifies where you want your company to be in the future. Whether you call it a mission or a vision isn’t critical, so long as you are clearly identifying what you want to provide and what success you want to achieve.
Here’s a real vision example: The news organization BBC laid out in their charter that they wanted “to be the most creative organisation in the world.”
Values Statement:
Values statements list the core principles and beliefs that guide your business’s actions and decisions. These values reflect your business culture and ethics. For the coffee shop, values might include “sustainability,” “community engagement,” and “quality craftsmanship.”
For example: IKEA has several detailed guiding values, including Togetherness, Simplicity, and Cost-Consciousness that are clearly manifested in the products they provide.
Why MVV Statements Matter
Alignment and Focus: These statements ensure that all team members are aligned with the business’s goals and principles.
Decision-Making: They provide a framework for making consistent and values-driven decisions.
Customer Connection: Clearly articulated statements can attract customers who share your business’s values and vision.
Here’s where it can get even more powerful –
Trickle-Down Alternatives: If your organization provides a variety of services, you might even consider having a sub-mission statement. Perhaps you run a public outreach project as part of your business, or perhaps you have a robust customer service operation. Having a MVV statement for your customer service team, so long as it is consistent with the broader company vision, can be very empowering for that team and how they interact with the public.
Conclusion
By clearly defining and regularly revisiting your Mission, Vision, and Values statements, your organization can stay true to its core purpose while navigating growth and change. Refining them, reflecting on them, revising them, and reinforcing them is crucial to healthy organizational leadership, communication, and decision-making.
At BizComm Ally, we love working with businesses to refine their Mission, Vision, Values. Reach out to build or re-build yours.
