developing vision and mission statements overview

8/9/2019 Developing Vision and Mission Statements Overview

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3. DEVELOPING VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS OVERVIEW

Vision and mission statements should articulate the essence of yourorganization's beliefs and values and define its place in the world. Theyestablish the long-term direction that guides every aspect of an

organization's daily operations.

To distinguish between the two, a vision statement expresses anorganization's optimal goal and reason for existence, while a missionstatement provides an overview of the group's plans to realize that vision byidentifying the service areas, target audience, and values and goals of theorganization.

The following statements highlight the difference between vision andmission:

In drafting appropriate statements for your organization, you might thinkabout answers to the following questions to guide you:

Vision

What are the values or beliefs that inform your work? What would you ultimately hope to accomplish as a result of your

efforts?

Mission

How do you plan to work toward this broad vision? For whose specific benefit does the organization exist?

Fromhttp://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/establish/statements.html

Developing a Vision Statement:

[Description of the organizations desired future state; answers the questionwhere do we want to be?]

www.familyvoices.org2340 Alamo Drive SE, Suite 102Albuquerque, NM 87106(p) 888.835.5669(f) 505.872.4780
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/establish/statements.htmlhttp://www.familyvoices.org/http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/establish/statements.htmlhttp://www.familyvoices.org/


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1. The vision statement includes vivid description of the organization as iteffectively carries out its operations.2. Developing a vision statement can be quick culture-specific, i.e.,participants may use methods ranging from highly analytical and rational tohighly creative and divergent, e.g., focused discussions, divergent

experiences around daydreams, sharing stories, etc. Therefore, visit with theparticipants how they might like to arrive at description of theirorganizational vision.3. Developing the vision can be the most enjoyable part of planning, but thepart where time easily gets away from you.4. Note that originally, the vision was a compelling description of the stateand function of the organization once it had implemented the strategic plan,i.e., a very attractive image toward which the organization was attracted andguided by the strategic plan. Recently, the vision has become more of amotivational tool, too often including highly idealistic phrasing and activitieswhich the organization cannot realistically aspire.

Developing a Mission Statement:

[Brief expression of the organizations purpose; answers the question whydo we exist?]1. At is most basic, the mission statement describes the overall purpose ofthe organization.2. If the organization elects to develop a vision statement before developingthe mission statement, ask Why does the image, the vision exist -- what isits purpose? This purpose is often the same as the mission.

3. Developing a mission statement can be quick culture-specific, i.e.,participants may use methods ranging from highly analytical and rational tohighly creative and divergent, e.g., focused discussions, divergentexperiences around daydreams, sharing stories, etc. Therefore, visit with theparticipants how they might like to arrive at description of theirorganizational mission.4. When wording the mission statement, consider the organization'sproducts, services, markets, values, and concern for public image, andmaybe priorities of activities for survival.5. Consider any changes that may be needed in wording of the missionstatement because of any new suggested strategies during a recent

strategic planning process.6. Ensure that wording of the mission is to the extent that management andemployees can infer some order of priorities in how products and servicesare delivered.7. When refining the mission, a useful exercise is to add or delete a wordfrom the mission to realize the change in scope of the mission statement andassess how concise is its wording.

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8. Does the mission statement include sufficient description that thestatement clearly separates the mission of the organization from otherorganizations?

Written by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

Copyright 1997-2008.Adapted from the Field Guide to Nonprofit Strategic Planning and Facilitation.

From http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htm

http://www.authenticityconsulting.com/http://www.authenticityconsulting.com/pubs/SP_gdes/SP_pubs.htmhttp://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htmhttp://www.familyvoices.org/http://www.authenticityconsulting.com/http://www.authenticityconsulting.com/pubs/SP_gdes/SP_pubs.htmhttp://www.familyvoices.org/http://www.managementhelp.org/plan_dec/str_plan/stmnts.htm

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