The Magic around Mission and Vision
Everyone knows it, everyone uses it, but very few really live it.
Strategy and growth go hand in hand like the chicken-and-egg problem. One cannot exist without the other and no one really knows what is needed first.
Of course, every venture needs an idea, a roadmap to grow, but for proper growth, a full-blown strategy isn’t always the deciding factor in charge.
Start-ups are sprouting from the ground, conquering new markets and revolutionizing subject areas around the globe. And they’re doing it all the time.
With a good idea, a satisfying first product and a good hand for initial marketing, this can lead to success and growth even without a full-blown “Growth Strategy”.
Looking at it in a simple manner, any plan with a set goal is a strategy. It can even be the simple beer mat calculation.
But is that enough?
Well, sometimes, but most rarely.
Nevertheless, from a certain size and speed, sharper goals are needed, and thus also more determined planning.
Many consultants often throw around the terms Mission and Vision here, which rightly also pay off.
In this case, the vision describes the main goal, the mission the way to achieve it. Please make sure, however, that the whole thing does not become too subjective. Statements like “We want to help everyone live healthier.” is certainly a noble vision, but still quite far away from the actual, rational goals of the company.
Here, it should be more of statements like “We want to produce our medicine as cost-effectively as possible so that we can offer them to all patients at a reasonable price.” This then tends to pay into the mission.
Of course, you can always break down deeper into your set of goals, but finding the balance between accuracy, effort and added-value, that’s what represents the great challenge of this crucial exercise.
The vision and mission help an overall company with its sense of community and they are also always a good hook in marketing to prospects and customers.
But again, is that enough?
Still the same answer, most rarely.
For a clear internal strategy, there needs to be more depth and more clearly stated goals and objectives.
“Goals aren’t just for achieving them”. Always sounds really good in sales though, doesn’t it?
Goals are there to be tracked, measured regularly and then sharpened to create new success measures derived from the preceding. That’s the only way to stay on track and to achieve them on a successfull basis.
It can and may happen that the previously set goals later result in a completely different, better goals. At the latest in today’s world, this should also have become clear to all team leaders in their discussions with your sales people around the globe.
So whats the message?
Remain clear, remain measurable, because this is the only way you will also remain successfully one step ahead of your competitors.
And for this, it is indispensable to make different kinds of mistakes and explore their ways of treatment. Use those insights, or bette Best Practices”, to set new goals with clear taks and suitable measurement metrics.
And in the end, this is what real Business Experience is all about – knowing what others have yet to experience.
