Directional strategy

Mission, Vision, and Values Analysis Questions

Mission

As you consider the alignment of your organization’s mission with its strategic goals, you are trying to determine whether its current mission statement is the best way to define the organization’s goals and operational direction "right now.” These three questions about mission will help you discover whether the organization’s mission is a fit with its current strategic goals.

Why does your organization do what it does? Answering this question helps provide the big picture ideals and values your organization brings to its customers.

Whom do you serve? This question helps you determine how your organization influences or helps others.

What image do you want to project? The mission statement needs to represent the organization’s deeply held values, and the image the organization wants to project to others. What value does your organization bring to the table that no other organization does? What is the organization’s culture? Is it fresh and innovative, or traditional and reliable? Does the organization’s brand boast a fun, irreverent quality, or more of a dignified gravitas? The best mission statements clearly answer these questions.

Vision

As you consider the alignment of your organization’s vision with its strategic goals, you are trying to determine whether the vision serves as the organization’s “north star.” Is it providing focus and long-term alignment? The best organizational vision statements answer these three questions:

Time horizon: By what specific date will your organization achieve its strategy and vision? Usually this is within three to five years.

Measurability: What are the few measurable goals for which achievement can be objectively assessed? Remember: These goals should align with the strategies you developed as part of your draft strategic plan in Assessment 2.

Unique Approach: What is the succinct statement that reflects how your organization will effectively deliver its services, meet the needs of its customers, and achieve its vision?

Value Statements

Company value statements are designed to look introspectively into the organization’s long-term aspirations. Consider these three questions as you consider potential revisions to your organization's value statements:

What do perfect employees look like? Think about the values they hold. What is their preferred work style? Independent? Or team-based? What is their attitude toward customers?

Will employees adhere to these values in 25 years? Selecting sustainable values is critical to long-term organizational success. Value statements can change over time, but core values remain constant.

How does your company help employees grow? Providing support to help your people grow personally and professionally is vital to maintaining an engaged and motivated workforce. After all, this is the workforce that will uphold the organizational values that have been set.