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Creating_a_Business_Vision_&_Mission
| Creating a Business Vision & Mission
For any business to succeed, it must know what it is about. It
must be able to clearly describe why it is there, and what it is
there to achieve. Developing a vision and mission statement is a
way of articulating these ideas to yourself, your customers,
your employees, and to the world at large.
A Business Vision that Inspires! If you don’t know where you are
heading, then you can make any choice and go in any direction
(including backwards). The value in knowing your final
destination (your vision) is that you can choose to take the
specific paths that lead you there. Your action is intentional
and keeps you pointed in the right direction.
Vision statements can take many forms. They answer the question:
“What will success look like?” Their main purpose is to
articulate the “dream” state of the business. If your business
could be everything you dreamed, how would it be? To help you to
craft your vision statement, try writing your answers to the
following questions:
·Why did I start this business? ·When I move on from this
business, what do I want to leave behind? ·What am I really
providing for my customers beyond products and services? ·If my
business could be everything I dreamed, how would it be?
Here are a few examples of powerful vision statements from the
real world:
eHam.net - “To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio
community site on the Internet”
Coachville - Everyone is a coach
Bill Gates - There will be a personal computer on every desk
running Microsoft software
Once you have created the long-term vision for your business, it
creates the context in which all other decisions are made. Your
statement should stretch expectations, aspirations, and
performance. Without that powerful, attractive, valuable vision,
why bother?
A Clear Mission that describes what you do For any business to
succeed, even a business consisting of one individual, it
(he/she) needs to know what they're about - what, precisely, it
is that they do. The mission statement describes the "what" of
your business. It states why your organization is in business
and what you are hoping to achieve.
A typical mission statement contains three components:
1.The overall purpose of your business – what are you trying to
achieve, why are you in business 2.What your business does –
products and services it provides 3.What’s important to your
business – the values your business lives by
Some examples: Pfizer Pharmaceutical’s mission statement: “We
dedicate ourselves to humanity’s quest for longer, healthier,
happier lives through innovation in pharmaceutical, consumer and
animal health products”.
Purpose: quest for longer, healthier, happier lives
Business:pharmaceutical, consumer and animal health products
Values:Innovation
Dell Computers statement – “With the power of direct and Dell's
team of talented people, we are able to provide customers with
superb value; high-quality, relevant technology; customized
systems; superior service and support; and products and services
that are easy to buy and use”. Purpose:provide customers with
superb value technology Business:high quality, relevant
technology, customized systems Values:superior service and
support, easy to buy, easy to use
A well-crafted mission statement becomes the glue that binds the
various parts of the business
About the author:
Megan Tough, director of Action Plus, works with small business
professionals who are ready to do more than ‘just get by’.
Increase your income - decrease your stress! To learn more and
to sign up for more FREE tips and articles like these, visit
www.megantough.com
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