On a recent blog post, we wrote about a new way to think of core values as core behaviours. Today, we're going to explain the difference between vision, mission, and values.
Vision
Simply put, but not easy to get clear on, a vision statement is a statement of some future state you want to achieve. It should be clear enough to answer "where are we planning to go as a company?" It's typically aspirational.
Google – provide access to the world’s information in one click.
Creativeo – create $100M in new revenue for clients by 2025
The goal of a clear vision statement is to provide clarity and inspiration for the organization. Being clear about where the company is shooting for, helps your organization to make better strategic decisions to support your vision.
Mission aka Core Purpose
Another way of thinking of a mission statement is to ask "what your core purpose is?" The goal of a core purpose is to describe the reason the organization exists in the first place. It is what Simon Sinek has coined "what is your why?"
Obviously, a business' first and primary goal is to make money but beyond the obvious there is a larger reason for being or at least there should be.
Examples
Google – to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful
Creativeo – to help businesses discover untapped opportunities to grow their businesses.
Core values are principles that help the organization be clear on "how do we go about doing our business?" – this is an area companies tend to fail as they write lofty values that lack clarity and inspiration.
Core values
Instead of core values, think about core behaviours, that you can observe and keep one another accountable.
Honour God in everything– at the heart of everything, Creativeo exists to bring glory and honour to God. All behaviours drive from this principle. We seek God's direction in all that we do.
Another one of our core behaviours:
Be obsessive about continuous growth – to continue to offer our clients great value, regularly reevaluate ideas, past projects, and experiments to find ways to improve. Don't be satisfied with past successes. Keep getting better.
