BENCHMARK VALUE MISSION

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Characteristics of a Good Vision Statement

To perform its function of propelling the organization toward an identified point in the future, the vision statement should have certain qualities.

A vision could be viewed as a kind of “dream” that motivates and drives the organization. It is definitely different from what the organization has now and appears to be a significant improvement. The difference between the current reality described in the mission statement and the idealized future described in the vision statement represents a significant stretch for the organization. The vision is bold and there is some uncertainty about whether it can be achieved. However, the vision statement is grounded in reality and it is possible. It reflects a solid understanding of the organization’s resources and competencies, in the context of the opportunities and threats that exist in the external environment. It will be challenging for employees to accomplish the vision. They will have to develop new abilities, dedicate themselves passionately to the effort, and perform at their very highest levels. A truly shared vision gets employees excited, makes them feel proud to be part of the organization that is pursuing it. They want to tell their friends what they are doing. All the firm’s stakeholders find something appealing about the vision, an aspect of it that serves their interests. It is flexible and adaptable enough to allow managers and employees to display individual initiative in pursuing it. It is capable of being communicated to all interested parties.

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Guidelines for Describing an Organization’s Vision

A few other maxims will enhance the effectiveness of the vision:

It is stated in clear language comprehensible to all stakeholders. It describes a future that is unique to the organization and especially appealing to its stakeholders, particularly its customers. It sets a specific chronological time deadline for its realization. It describes a vivid, compelling picture of the organization’s future that excites its employees, inspiring them to desire it and make it happen. It incorporates features that are, if not quantitatively measurable, so concrete and objective that there will be no mistaking when the vision has been reached. It is realistic and achievable, yet stretches the organization, asking its people to accomplish more than perhaps they think they can. It builds on and grows out of the mission. Like the mission, it is concise and memorable.

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Characteristics of a Good Mission Statement

A good mission statement has the following characteristics:

It should be short, about 200 to 300 words, definitely no more than a single page. Drafting a concise mission statement can pose a challenge for many executive teams that are inclined to describe at length the premise of the organization. It should be memorable (one reason for the brevity). Key stakeholders, certainly the managers and employees, should be able to remember it, almost verbatim, and explain it to someone else without hesitating. It should be stated in broad enough terms to allow for the generation and consideration of feasible alternative objectives and strategies without unduly stifling management creativity. The generality of language gives the firm flexibility in adapting to changing external environments and internal operations. It should be expansive in a way that reconciles differences among, and still appeals to, an organization’s diverse stakeholders (employees, managers, shareholders, board of directors, customers, suppliers, distributors, creditors, government regulators and payers, labor unions, competitors, public interest groups, community groups, media, and the general public). All stakeholders’ claims on an organization cannot be satisfied with equal emphasis. A good mission statement indicates the relative attention that an organization will give to the interests of different stakeholders. It suggests where managers should be looking for future opportunity and steers them away from other areas. It provides a basis for generating and screening strategic options, and selecting specific strategies to implement.

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It highlights the points of differentiation with other businesses, particularly competitors, and sets forth the basis for the firm’s competitive advantage. It arouses positive feelings and emotions about the organization and an individual’s role within it. It attracts and deters potential staff. It gives the impression that the firm is successful, knows what it is doing, is professionally managed, has direction, and is worthy of time, support, and investment. It is communicated to, understood by, and embraced by all members of the organization. It is more pragmatic, with a more immediate purpose, than a vision statement.

The faster the external environment is changing, the more frequently the mission should be reviewed. A successful organization will inevitably outgrow its original mission. As time passes and its operations expand, the organization will develop new competencies and a more perceptive view of available opportunities. Mission changes will seem to make sense.

Even if they are not overly concerned about their social obligations, for-profit corporate executives still have to reconcile an inevitable duality in their missions. One mission is to maximize the return to the owners of the business, the shareholders, on the investments that they have made in the business.

1 Drucker PF. The Theory of Business. Harvard Business Review. September–October 1994.

The other mission concerns the substance of the organization’s operations—the products and services that it creates and the customers to whom it offers them. Many, perhaps most, for-profit business shareholders do not care

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about the substantive mission of the organizations in which they invest. Tobacco companies have never lacked for shareholders—as long as their financial performance has been above average. It is true that some