Vision and Mission

Vision and Mission - ending the confusion

A few years back, a manager of mine explained a simple yet powerful way of remembering the difference between a Vision and a Mission.

"A Vision to BE. A Mission to DO"

In this sense, a Vision is something to aim for. Something imagined in the future. A Mission however, states what we are doing in the present.

Aligning these two is where the power lies. If our actions all focus on helping us achieve our Vision, progress will be accelerated. If our actions don't align with our aspirations (or our personal Vision for who we want to be), progress will stall.

Vision Words are Descriptive

Describe your perfect future self. Which words excite you from this list?

• Happy
• Rich
• Famous
• Collaborative
• Generous
• Hard-working
• Resilient
• Relaxed
• Active
• Chilled
• Confident

At this stage you don't need to go any further than this.

Mission Words are Active

What things would you be excited to do to bring your Vision to life? What activities will you intensify to feel like you're really on a mission?

• Building
• Collaborating
• Making
• Developing
• Teaching
• Studying
• Engineering
• Reporting
• Examining
• Researching

Not a bad list, add some of your own to tune-in to the most relevant verbs for you.

Aligning Vision and Mission makes you Unstoppable

Here's an example of someone who mastered this process and went on to become, arguably, the greatest boxer who ever lived.

What made this Vision so powerful was not the words, not even the intimidating impact it had on his opponents, it was the action it inspired. No-one can deny, Ali was on a Mission to back up his personal vision with appropriate action (and raise a few smiles on the way too.)

"There’s not a man alive who can whup me. I’m too fast. I’m too smart. I’m too pretty. I should be a postage stamp. That’s the only way I’ll ever get licked."

Create Your Own Vision and Mission Statements

Before you start, let me encourage you to keep it really simple.

No need for big flowery statements. Even if you are crafting a company Vision or Mission, the simpler the better. For example, if I said "Spread Ideas", what organisation do you think of? It's unmistakably TED the non-profit organisation responsible for sharing an insane number of ideas online and on their stages across the world.

With that in mind, remember this quote from Einstein;

If your statements end up being more than two words, that's okay. Just do your best to keep it as simple as possible.

The first step is to look around you for inspiration. Books, videos, podcasts, blogs, news and films are all rich sources of information. Capture everything you see and hear that sparks your imagination for a week and then just play. Group the words, move them around, try different formations. As long as you have a clear image in your head, it will emerge.

Here's mine!

My Vision: Everyone in the world is within arm's reach of a Change Maker

My Mission: To develop Change Makers - people with the skills and mindset to support other through all of life's changes

What's Yours?

Share your personal Visions and Missions with me on social media. Don't worry if they're not perfectly crafted yet. The act of sharing it will trigger more thinking for you and help others get inspired to do it for themselves.

Want to explore more in this area? Take a look at my L4 Framework - https://www.simonphillipstcm.com/l4-framework